It may be known as laughing gas, but an international team of researchers has said there is nothing funny about nitrous oxide. Besides its potential for misuse, the commonly used anesthesia may boost homocysteine in the blood to dangerous levels, according to new research.

A study published in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia found that hospital patients treated with nitrous oxide were 60 percent more likely to have a heart attack over the following three years.

Researchers theorized that this effect may be due to laughing gas’s connection to homocysteine, an amino acid linked to the increased risk of heart disease.

Nearly 50 percent of the study’s participants who were given nitrous oxide later displayed high levels of homocysteine in their blood.

While the team did not recommend discontinuing the use of nitrous oxide, it did note that the gas has previously been associated with a higher likelihood of infection and pneumonia.

The study’s authors concluded that more research should be conducted into nitrous oxide’s possible role in the advent of heart disease.

Currently, laughing gas is primarily used in dental procedures.