CBD Lowers Blood Pressure In Croatian Patients With Hypertension
Hypertension occurs when someone’s blood pressure is too elevated, typically above 140/90. The condition is considered severe if the pressure is above 180/120. If left untreated, hypertension can cause serious health conditions, including heart disease and stroke.
International health experts estimate that roughly 30% of the planet’s adult human population suffers from hypertension to some degree, which works out to over one billion people globally.
Fortunately, the cannabis plant may be able to help, as evidenced by the results of a new study out of Croatia which examined the use of oral CBD and how it affects hypertension patients. Below is more information about the new study via a news release from NORML:
Split, Croatia: The oral administration of a proprietary encapsulated dose of CBD reduces ambulatory blood pressure in subjects suffering from either mild or moderate hypertension, according to placebo-controlled clinical trial data published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
Researchers assessed the efficacy of CBD versus placebo in a cohort of 70 patients. Subjects received daily doses of either CBD or a placebo for five weeks. Patients consumed between 225 mgs and 450 mgs of CBD per day.
“The administration of CBD reduced average 24-hour mean, systolic, and diastolic BP [blood pressure] after 2.5 weeks,” investigators concluded. “There were no changes in liver enzymes of serious adverse events.”
Authors concluded: “The results of the present randomized, triple-blind, crossover study indicate that chronic administration of CBD [capsules] reduces ambulatory BP. … These findings should be confirmed in larger prospective cohorts to apply them into clinical practice.”
The trial’s findings are consistent with those of a 2017 British study finding that the administration of a single oral dose of 600 mgs of CBD reduced blood pressure in healthy volunteers. Another study reported that CBD dosing was associated with sustained lower levels of stress-induced high blood pressure
Israeli data has shown that the use of whole-plant cannabis also modulates blood pressure control. Authors of a 2021 study of elderly hypertension subjects determined, “Cannabis treatment for three months was associated with a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as heart rate.” More recently, an analysis in the journal Nature: Scientific Reports concluded that current and lifetime cannabis use is associated with lower blood pressure levels in men and women.
Full text of the study, “Chronic effects of oral cannabidiol delivery on 24-h ambulatory blood pressure in patients with hypertension: A randomized, placebo-controlled, and cross-over study,” appears in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. Additional information on cannabinoids and blood pressure regulation is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
