Expanded Summary (6th grade reading level):

Paragraph 1: This study looked at how kratom, a plant that grows in Southeast Asia, affects the heart and blood vessels of people who use it regularly. Kratom has been used for a long time in places like Thailand and Malaysia to help with pain, depression, and anxiety. However, in the United States and Europe, there have been some reports of people having health problems from using kratom. The researchers wanted to see if regular kratom users in Malaysia had any heart or blood vessel problems.

Paragraph 2: The researchers studied 9 people who used kratom every day. They did tests on their hearts, like an ECG and an echocardiogram, and also measured the amount of kratom in their blood. They found that people who used more kratom each day had higher levels of kratom in their blood. They also found that some people had a longer QTc interval, which means their heart took longer to recharge between beats. This could be a sign of a heart problem. However, most of the people in the study had normal heart and blood vessel function.

This study was done in the real world, not in a lab. It looked at people who regularly use kratom, not
animals.

Key takeaways:

• Higher amounts of daily kratom use were linked to higher levels of kratom in the blood.
• Some regular kratom users had a longer QTc interval, which could be a sign of a heart problem.
• Most regular kratom users in the study had normal heart and blood vessel function.
• More research is needed on the long-term effects of regular kratom use on the heart and blood vessels.

For further reading:

Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.723567/full

Full Citation:

eong Bin Abdullah, M.F.I. and Singh, D. (2021) Assessment of Cardiovascular Functioning Among Regular Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa Korth) Users: A Case Series. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 723567. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.723567