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Marijuana is beginning to be legalized in many states in the US both for medicinal and recreational purposes. However, in an analysis conducted with 20 million health records across the United States, using marijuana is linked to heart disease.

The Medical News Today reveals that as marijuana becomes a legal and welcomed recreational and medicinal drug in the US, it is also posing a great risk to America's health. Abuse of the substance is feared due to the increasing number of US states that are legalizing the use of the substance, both for medical and recreational purposes.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Aditi Kalla of the Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA and colleagues help in enlightening the possible side effects that come with marijuana use. This discovery may help doctors enlighten their patients on the dangers and side-effects that come with unsupervised marijuana use.

The CBC News also reports that besides food options, heredity, and other known risk factors, a considerable number of incidences of stroke, heart disease, and heart failure has been associated with the use of marijuana. In the 20 million health records reviewed for the study, test subjects ranged from 18 to 55-years old and were discharged from one or several hospitals across the US from 2009 to 2010. One and a half percent of these patients used marijuana. This was enough reason to associate its use with a higher risk for heart disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, and sudden cardiac death.

Marijuana use was linked to 26 percent of increased incidences of stroke and 10 percent increase in the risk of heart failure. However, marijuana advocacy groups see this number as insignificant and inconsistent for all marijuana users. Although, they believe that those with psychiatric illnesses, pregnant women, and adolescent refrain from using marijuana due to possible effects on their health.

Results of the study were published at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington D.C. Despite marijuana being legalized in the Americas, it remains to be the most commonly used illicit drug in the country. With 28 states already allowing the use of marijuana, uncovering the link between marijuana use and poor cardiovascular health and heart disease becomes more urgent.