Cannabis Smoke and Cardiovascular Disease with Matthew Springer, PhD
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In this episode, Dr. Matthew Springer explains how inhaling smoke from combusted products such as tobacco and cannabis, as well as inhaling aerosol from e-cigarettes and cannabis vaping devices, may impair endothelial function, an early marker of cardiovascular risk. Drawing on rodent and human studies, he reports that chronic tobacco smokers, e-cigarette users, and cannabis smokers all show reduced vascular function.
He also discusses evidence that chronic THC edible users may have impaired vascular function through a different mechanism than inhaled products. A central message is that “cannabis use” is too imprecise a term, because smoking cannabis and ingesting THC are very different exposures. His public health takeaway is simple: be aware of cardiovascular risks, practice moderation, and avoid exposing others to secondhand smoke.
Matthew Springer, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
UC San Francisco
Dr. Springer received his BA from UC Berkeley in 1985 and his PhD from Stanford University in 1992.
He did postdoctoral research at Stanford and continued his research there as a senior scientist until joining the UCSF faculty in 2003, where he is currently one of the few non-clinicians on the faculty of the Division of Cardiology. The close juxtaposition of his basic research background with the clinical cardiologists has resulted in an active translational research program. His research interests include cell therapy and gene therapy approaches to studying cardiovascular disease, with the goals of exploring potential treatments for heart attacks and heart failure, and understanding how cardiovascular health is impacted by smoking/vaping of tobacco or cannabis products, or by secondhand exposure, in rodents and humans.