How phytocannabinoids affect cardiovascular health? An update on the
most common cardiovascular diseases.
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the cause of millions of deaths in
the world annually. Despite the great progress in therapies, which are
available for patients with CVDs, some limitations including drug
complications still exist. Hence, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) was
proposed as a new avenue for CVDs treatment. The cardiovascular action
of cannabinoids is complex as they not only affect vasculature and
myocardium directly via specific receptors but also exert indirect
effects through the central and peripheral nervous system. The growing
interest in phytocannabinoid studies has been broadened the knowledge
about their molecular targets as well as therapeutical properties,
nonetheless, some areas of their actions are not yet fully recognized.
The purpose of this review is to summarize and update the cardiovascular
actions of the most potent phytocannabinoids and the potential
therapeutic role of ECS in CVDs, including ischemic reperfusion injury,
arrhythmia, heart failure, hypertension as well as cardiac complications
associated with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 infections.