Diagnosed With SVT. Has Ablation. Found Atrial Flutter. Is It Safe To Have A Joint Of Marijuana Often?

Posted on Mon, 30 Sep 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 30 Sep 2013 Answered on

Wed, 23 Oct 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi there, Im a 29 yr old male who was an extremely fit person till I was diagnosed with SVT, in which i had an ablation for witch they found that it was Atrial Flutter, then in witch they had cured it. I then continued to have some more less serious problems, but they couldn't pin point what the diagnoses was, firstly it was VT then Afib, I've had another ablation which failed as i didn't have an episode on the table. They had me on a pocket pill flaciande but i had to many episodes that they told me to have it everyday, 50mg in the morning and also at night my Question is - is it safe to have a joint of marijuana every now and then, defiantly not a regular occurrence, and as far as alcohol consumption is drinking ok. Im here to ask as I have never had an straight answer from my doctors in the past, I don't know if its to do with the notion of the Q i had asked but my previous life activities have been striped from me (my fitness lifestyle) and im wanna just relax every now and then. Straight answer PLZ..

Answered by Dr. Jorge Brenes-Salazar (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Relation with arrhythmias

Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXXXX

Thanks for your concerns. Unfortunately, both alcohol and marihuana have been reported to be cardiac irritants, specially alcohol, and can lead to arrhythmia, particularly supraventricular. We certainly don't know much about the interaction of marihuana with prescription medications. For relaxation, I would encourage other types of activities such as stretching, yoga, walking or hobbies.

Again, it is a matter of weighing the pro's and con's of recurrent arrhythmia and risk factors, and nowehere in the guidelines there is a straight paragraph about that topic

Yours truly,

Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar