According to the American Heart Association, nearly half of American adults suffer from high blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension, and many don’t even know it. Dubbed “the silent killer,” when left untreated the damage it can wreak to your circulatory system is a significant contributing factor to heart attack, stroke and other health threats.

Luckily the condition is treatable, with methods ranging from dietary and lifestyle changes to pharmaceuticals. Now, researchers are adding one more potential treatment to the mix after making a groundbreaking discovery.

A new study published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine conducted by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and its affiliated Soroka University Medical Center have found that medical cannabis can effectively reduce blood pressure in older adults.

“Older adults are the fastest growing group of medical cannabis users, yet evidence on cardiovascular safety for this population is scarce,” said Dr. Ran Abuhasira of the BGU Faculty of Health Sciences, one of Israel’s leading medical faculties, and the BGU-Soroka Cannabis Clinical Research Institute. “This study is part of our ongoing effort to provide clinical research on the actual physiological effects of cannabis over time.”

“Cannabis research is in its early stages and BGU is at the forefront of evaluating clinical use based on scientific studies,” Doug Seserman, chief executive officer of Americans for Ben-Gurion University, added. “This new study is one of several that has been published recently by BGU on the medicinal benefits of cannabis.”