this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2026
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Medical data from 100m people shows risk 122% higher for amphetamine users, 96% higher for cocaine and 37% higher for cannabis

Recreational drugs can more than double the risk of stroke, with some of the most concerning impacts seen among younger people, a major review suggests.

Scientists analysed medical data from more than 100 million people and found that the risk of stroke was 122% higher for amphetamine users and 96% higher for cocaine users compared with those who did not take the drugs.

Cannabis users were also at greater risk, suffering 37% more strokes than non-users, the review found, though researchers saw no evidence that opioids, a highly addictive painkiller, added to a person’s risk of stroke.

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[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 6 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

No effect found for nicotine, alcohol "linked to large artery and cardioembolic stroke". Caffeine not mentioned.

[–] Photonic@lemmy.world 3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Cardioembolic strokes are cerebral too. The “cardio” part refers to the source of the thrombus, not the destination.

[–] MalReynolds@slrpnk.net 1 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Ah, my bad, thanks, will correct. Just to clarify, a blood clot elsewhere in the body is a thrombosis? ischemic event ((guessing that's what it causes)? but in the brain it's a stroke?

ETA: As per Mirriam-Webster

ischaemia : deficient supply of blood to a body part (as the heart or brain) that is due to obstruction of the inflow of arterial blood.

thrombosis : the formation or presence of a blood clot (thrombus) within a blood vessel.

As per W.H.O.

A stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when blood flow to the brain is interrupted, either due to a blockage (ischemic) or bleeding (haemorrhagic).

[–] Photonic@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Thrombosis is generally used for the formation of a blood clot (thrombus) in a vein. However, not all thrombi are formed inside veins, as in the case of cardiac thrombi.

Embolism is when a thrombus dislodges from its place and occludes a blood vessel somewhere else. If it originates from a vein it usually ends up in the lung vasculature – pulmonary embolism.

Cardiac embolism usually ends up in the brain – ischaemic stroke.

A plaque is a build-up of atheroma (gunk) on the wall of an artery. If that happens in the carotid artery part of that plaque may dislodge and end up in the brain, causing ischaemic stroke.

Ischaemic strokes are very rarely caused by embolism of thrombosis (thrombo-embolism from the veins), in which case it is often referred to as a paradoxical embolism.