The leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States is heart disease, taking over 610,000 lives a year. Changing your lifestyle after noticing symptoms and taking heart medication are the best ways to keep your heart healthy, and CBD oil has shown that it may be an extremely viable option for treating heart disease symptoms.
Because CBD interacts with your endocannabinoid system, it may help with the symptoms of heart disease such as high blood pressure, arrhythmias, and myocarditis.
What Is CBD?
You may have heard of CBD, but did you know that it comes from cannabis? Just like THC, this chemical is packed with healing benefits; the big difference is it doesn’t get you high. This is one of the main reasons CBD has obtained so much attention from scientists, doctors, and patients. CBD has shown in studies to possibly treat so many different symptoms because of its relationship with the endocannabinoid system.
What Is The Endocannabinoid System?
The endocannabinoid system is in charge of regulating your body. This system makes sure that you don’t bleed out when you scrape your knee, and you have a fever when a virus is trying to spread through your body. The three main parts that make up this system are metabolic enzymes, cannabinoid receptors, and endocannabinoids.
Metabolic Enzymes
Metabolic enzymes create the endocannabinoids in your body, and when they are no longer needed, they degrade them. Without these enzymes, our brains would be cluttered with endocannabinoids, causing blockage in communication between neurons.
Cannabinoid Receptors
For endocannabinoids to work, they need somewhere to go. Your body is covered in cannabinoid receptors, the two we know of today are CB1 and CB2. The CB1 receptors mediate the neurological system, while the CB2 receptors are in control of your immune system. When endocannabinoids bind to these receptors, they help mediate their respective roles and help your body and brain work more efficiently.
Endocannabinoids
Cannabinoids come from the cannabis plant, while endocannabinoids are similar chemicals that are synthesized in your body. The two endocannabinoids that we have studied are anandamide, which binds to the CB1 receptor, and 2-AG, which binds to the CB2 receptor. The endocannabinoids either inhibit or promote the production of neurotransmitters, controlling the conversations that happen between neurons.
CBD And Your Heart
While CBD doesn’t directly interact with the cardiovascular system, the way that it communicates with the endocannabinoid system may be beneficial to your heart health. The top three ways that CBD can help with your heart is lowering your blood pressure, reducing arrhythmias, and reducing inflammation.
1. High Blood Pressure
One of the side-effects we tell you to look out for when taking CBD is lowered blood pressure. For you, this is more of a treatment than a risk. CBD has been found to be a vasodilator, meaning that it widens the blood vessels allowing for more blood flow. This, in turn, reduces the damage that is done to arterial walls from high blood pressure.
In a randomized cross-over study of healthy patients, they found that a single dose of CBD helped lower blood pressure. Nine healthy males were given either a placebo or CBD, and they found that those who took the CBD reduced resting systolic pressure, reduced stroke volume, and reduced blood pressure after cold exposure.
Symptoms of High Blood Pressure
- Headaches
- Blurred Vision
- Dizziness
- Shortness Of Breath
- Chest Pain
- Leg Swelling
- Cold Feet
- Stroke
- Heart Attack
2. Antiarrhythmic
A heart arrhythmia is when your heart beats too slow, too fast, too early, or irregularly. Many arrhythmias can be completely harmless. It is when the heartbeat is exceptionally irregular or comes from a damaged heart when you have problems.
Though researchers aren’t exactly sure how CBD treats heart arrhythmias, they have found that in rodent models this medication was very successful. They believe that the endocannabinoid 2-AG plays a pivotal role, though more research is needed to verify this conclusion.
Tachycardia Symptoms (Your Heart Is Beating Too Fast)
- Dizziness
- Breathlessness
- Feeling Faint or Fainting
- Fluttering Chest
- Chest Pain
- Light Headedness
- Weakness
Bradycardia Symptoms (Your Heart Is Beating too Slow)
- Trouble Concentrating
- Chest Pain
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Trouble Exercising
- Palpitations
- Shortness Of Breath
- Excessive Sweating
- Confusion
- Feeling Faint or Fainting
Atrial Fibrillation (Your Heart Beats Irregularly)
- Palpitations
- Dizziness
- Chest Pains
- Weakness
- Feeling Faint or Fainting
- Breathlessness
3. Inflammation Of The Heart
Inflammation of the heart, or myocarditis, can cause the cells in your heart to become damaged and even die. This can be caused by your immune system, viruses, medications, and certain diseases. If the inflammation goes without being treated, it can result in death.
CBD is well known for its ability to reduce harmful inflammation. The 2-AG endocannabinoid binds to the CB2 receptor, which leads to your immune system sending out less immune cells to attack. CBD has also shown that it reduced the number of cells that die in the heart during inflammation, helping your heart muscle hold onto its strength.
Symptoms Of Myocarditis
- Chest Pain
- Shortness Of Breath
- Palpitations
- Fever
- Liver Congestion
- Swelling
- Sudden Death
The Silent Killer
These three heart issues may come with symptoms or none at all. It’s crucial that you exercise regularly, eat well, and make frequent visits to your doctor. When going shopping at your local drug store, don’t forget that most have a machine to check your blood pressure. Worst case scenario of not looking out for your heart is death, which is as bad as it gets.
Change Your Habits
We mentioned before that changing your lifestyle habits when you notice symptoms is essential for your health. You can try to avoid the symptoms altogether by making those lifestyle changes now. Here are a few things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease.
Stop Smoking
If you smoke cigarettes, you are more likely to develop a heart condition that someone who doesn’t. Smoking tobacco cigarettes can damage the lining of your arterial walls which can lead to a build-up of fatty material that narrows the artery. The carbon monoxide in the smoke also reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood, making your heart have to work harder. The nicotine in cigarettes can also raise your blood pressure and make your heart work harder than it needs to.
Taking CBD can help you quit smoking by reducing your cravings. You crave cigarettes because your brain’s reward system is stimulated anytime you smoke. CBD helps lessen that stimulation, helping your brain realize that smoking isn’t something you need to survive.
Lose Weight
If you are obese or overweight, you a much more likely to develop a heart condition than someone at a healthy weight. Being overweight has shown to raise blood pressure and increase cholesterol levels. Being overweight can cause more harm to your body than just your heart, making you a candidate for type II diabetes as well.
Losing weight can be difficult, but it may be easier with CBD. White fat is stored to create a reservoir of energy for your body, while brown fat is burned to use that energy. CBD has shown in studies to promote this fat browning process, making it easier to lose weight.
Exercise
One of the most significant benefits of having an active lifestyle or a healthy workout routine is that it helps you maintain a healthy weight. Exercise also helps strengthen your heart just like it does your muscles. A strong heart is much more efficient at pumping blood through your body than a weak one, making your blood pressure lower if it’s too high. Exercise also boosts the levels of good cholesterol, helping to flush your arteries of the bad cholesterol.
If you have a hard time getting out there and being active because of pain or low energy, CBD can help. Through the fat browning process, CBD is helping your body use the energy it already has stored. On top of that, it raises the anandamide levels which boost your mood helping you feel more energetic. If it’s pain that is stopping you, anandamide also helps reduce your sensitivity to pain.
Change Your Diet
A healthy diet will help you manage your weight, but it does much more than that. Eating foods high in saturated fat raises the bad cholesterol which increases your blood pressure. Eating trans-fat will not only boost bad cholesterol levels but also lowers the good cholesterol. Eating fruits, vegetables, foods with Omega-3 and Omega-6 will help you with your cholesterol levels, which in turn can regulate your blood pressure. Reducing your sodium intake won’t lower your cholesterol, but it will reduce your risk of heart disease by lowering your blood pressure.
When To See A Doctor
If you are experiencing these symptoms, the first thing you need to do is go to the doctor. Heart disease can sneak up on you like a deadly ninja, and a professional diagnostic could be the difference between life and death. While you are talking to your doctor, make sure to let them know you are taking medical cannabis for your symptoms. Your primary care doctor should always be in the loop with medication your taking to assess the improvement.
How Should I Take CBD?
You may find that you get the best results through taking CBD pills because it works just like common medications slowly administering the drug into your system. If you are trying to lose weight through exercising, using tinctures or e-liquid can help get the CBD into your system faster for the activity at hand. Suppositories are also a great option when you need long-lasting relief, and you need it to work quickly. Whatever method you choose, CBD Instead has got you covered.
