What Does Cocaine Do To Your Heart?

What Does Cocaine Do To Your Heart
Can Cocaine Cause a Heart Attack? – Stimulants like cocaine have wide-reaching effects on the heart and blood vessels. According to the American Heart Association, chronic cocaine users are more likely to get high blood pressure, heart muscle wall thickening, and stiff arteries — all major risk factors for heart attacks.

  1. According to a 2019 review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, cocaine can increase heart rate and blood pressure while lowering the heart’s oxygen supply.
  2. The inconsistency between oxygen supply and demand puts stress on the heart, in some cases leading to a heart attack.
  3. Heart attacks can also happen due to abnormal heart rhythms brought on by cocaine, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“Cocaine-related chest pain or heart attacks can occur the first time a person uses it or the one hundredth — there’s really no way of knowing or predicting when it will happen, so it’s important to stay away altogether,” Nicole Harkin, MD, FACC, cardiologist, and Whole Heart Cardiology founder, tells WebMD Connect to Care.

Contents

What illegal drugs can cause a heart attack?

Cocaine and Crack – Cocaine and crack (rock crystal form) are illegal drugs that provide immediate euphoric effects. These powerfully addictive drugs can constrict the heart’s blood vessels, making the heart work harder and faster to pump blood. Cocaine and crack can cause heart rhythm problems, heart attack, and stroke.

Does cocaine make your chest hurt?

A previously healthy 25-year-old male was admitted to the emergency department with severe chest pain soon after the consumption of 20 units of alcohol and snorting an unspecified amount of cocaine. The chest pain was described as a central dull ache, radiating to the jaw and exacerbated by deep inspiration, eating and coughing.

On examination, blood pressure was 118/68 with a regular pulse of 108 bpm. Oxygen saturations were 99% on air. Heart sounds were normal, jugular venous pressure was not raised and the chest was clear. The anterior chest wall was tender to palpation. An electrocardiogram showed a sinus tachycardia, normal axis and no ischaemic changes.

Blood tests on admission revealed an elevated troponin T of 44 ng/L (normal range, ​ 1 ) demonstrated surgical emphysema in the right and left supraclavicular area (more obvious on the right) (black arrow) and a pneumo-mediastinum (white arrow). A computerised tomography chest scan confirmed these findings (Fig ​ 2 ). CT chest demonstrating pneumomediastinum. Chest pain following cocaine use is a common presenting symptom.1 The majority of patients are young, male, smokers and have a previous history of cocaine abuse.2 The differential diagnosis of cocaine-induced chest pain includes:

aortic dissection coronary artery vasospasm acute coronary syndrome pulmonary haemorrhage pneumothorax pneumopericardium pneumomediastinum.2

Pneumomediastinum is an uncommon complication of cocaine use and occurs more often when smoked rather than following nasal inhalation.3 It has been hypothesised that the forceful snorting and Valsalva manoeuvre increase the pressure in the alveoli which can cause alveolar rupture and pneumomediastinum.3,4 In addition the direct toxicity of the cocaine on the lung tissue may produce rupture.3,4 Cocaine-induced pneumomediastinum is a benign condition and symptoms usually subside after 24 hours.5

Is cocaine heart damage reversible?

Conclusions – There is a great need for more primary data studies investigating the association between cocaine and cardiomyopathy or heart failure. Our meta-analyses showed that chronic cocaine use is associated with anatomical and physiological changes consistent with diastolic dysfunction that may result in diastolic heart failure.

Despite the common teaching that cocaine causes of dilated cardiomyopathy, our review did not identify enough primary data to conclude that either single dose or chronic cocaine use can affect left ventricular function outside of acute myocardial infarction; further studies would be useful to evaluate other potential mechanisms leading to systolic dysfunction 52,

The implications of these findings are broad. First, primary care physicians may understand cocaine as an important cause of diastolic HF. Second, we may need to consider that previous history of ACS is important in evaluating the type of heart failure the chronic cocaine user may be experiencing or is at risk for.

  1. Third, physicians managing HF may use our findings to prioritize screening and treatment of cocaine addiction in an effort to mitigate anatomical and physiological changes on the heart.
  2. Next, on a population scale, public health workers or researchers may use our results to recognize chronic cocaine use as an empirically-viable point of intervention for reducing the global burden of diastolic HF.

Regarding beta-blockers, our results indicate a need to strongly consider departing from the long-held assumption that beta-blocker therapy is dangerous among cocaine users. The beta-blocker question must be answered with further research so that clinicians do not unnecessarily delay a potentially effective treatment of cocaine-associated HF.

Does cocaine cause plaque in arteries?

The bare-bones release of Whitney Houston’s cause-of-death Thursday by the Los Angeles Country Department of the Coroner’s office wasn’t shocking, but it did raise some questions. The singing great died at age 48 of drowning (in a hotel room bathtub), atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and cocaine use, the report indicated.

  • The primary cause was accidental drowning and it’s uncertain whether she had a heart attack.
  • But the L.A.
  • Coroner’s office indicated that cardiovascular disease was a contributing factor and there were signs of “chronic usage” of cocaine.
  • According to a spokeswoman for the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office – who stressed she was not commenting on Whitney Houston’s death in particular – “the chronic use of cocaine can have various effects on the heart” and cardiovascular system.
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“Cocaine, like other stimulants, can exacerbate pre-existing heart disease, such as coronary artery disease or hypertension. In the presence of these pre-existing diseases, cocaine can cause heart failure, heart attack or sudden death,” the spokeswoman Sarah Gordon said.

Chronic use of cocaine has been shown to accelerate the development of atherosclerosis, the formation of plaques inside blood vessels, even in young people. Those plaques can eventually lead to severe narrowing of the vessels, causing heart attack, stroke, or a transient ischemic attack, a so-called “ministroke.” As many older people who have experienced a TIA can attest, a ministroke can leave you disoriented, cause fainting, and falls.

If one happens to be in a bathtub at the time, that could be deadly. A University of California San Francisco study found that “ischemic stroke/TIA is a common neurovascular presentation in patients with a remote history of cocaine use, often as a result of atherosclerotic disease.” Additionally, bits of plaque can break off and block a vital vessel, also causing a heart attack or stroke.

There’s more danger of that happening after something stimulating, like exercise. A study of sports-related deaths among schoolchildren in Australia concluded that “the fatal episodes often resulted from a complex interplay of a variety of factors, including physical exertion, possible trauma, and underlying organic disease” including, in one case, atherosclerosis.

Smoking a cigarette and getting the rush of nicotine, or, as Whitney Houston did, taking cocaine, can have similar cardiovascular effects as exercise. So can hot water. A 1991 study of 151 drowning and hyperthermia deaths in spas, Jacuzzis and hot tubs found that in 14 percent of them, cocaine – with or without alcohol ingestion – was implicated as a contributing factor.

  • The anti-anxiety prescription medication Xanax and the antihistamine Benadryl were also found in her system but are not believed to have contributed to her death.
  • However, nothing can be confirmed until the final report is released.
  • On TODAY Friday, chief medical editor Dr.
  • Nancy Snyderman noted that the coroner didn’t connect the other medications to her death, but that the drug interactions shouldn’t be ignored.

“It doesn’t have to be one drug in a whopping amount; it can be a lot of little things, and when you compound it, it can be enough to cause death,” Snyderman said. Whatever the combination of factors that led to her death, there is an important message in Houston’s sad story: The effects of chronic cocaine use can cause physical damage capable of haunting users even long after they’ve stopped.

What drugs block your heart?

Who is at risk of having heart block? – You may be at increased risk of a heart block if:

Your mother has an autoimmune disease, such as lupus. You are of older age. Risk of heart block increases with age. You have other heart conditions including coronary artery disease, heart valve disease. You have birth defects of the heart. You have a disease that affects the heart including rheumatic heart disease or sarcoidosis. You have an overactive vagus nerve (causes the heart to slow down). You take medications that slow the conduction of the heart’s electrical impulses including some heart medications (beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, digoxin), high blood pressure drugs, antiarrhythmics; muscle relaxants and sedatives; antidepressants and antipsychotics; diuretics; lithium. Ask your provider to review the medications you take.

The most common cause of heart block is heart attack. Other causes include heart muscle disease, usually called a cardiomyopathy, heart valve diseases and problems with the heart’s structure. Heart block can also be caused by damage to the heart during open heart surgery, as a side effect of some medications or exposure to toxins. Genetics can be another cause.

Can drugs destroy your heart?

Most illegal drugs can have injurious effects on the body, including the cardiovascular system (relating to the heart and blood vessels). These can range from an abnormal heart rate to heart attacks. Injecting illicit drugs can also cause cardiovascular problems, such as: Collapsed veins.

Why does my heart hurt after Coke?

The use of crack cocaine can lead to acute aortic dissection. Dissection results probably from the increase in systemic arterial pressure caused by cocaine and should be considered as a possible cause of chest pain in cocaine users.

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Does cocaine cause tachycardia?

Similarly in human case reports cocaine use is associated with a variety of arrhythmias that include the full spectrum of possibilities from benign sinus tachycardia to the most consequential arrhythmias including ventricular tachycardia, torsade de pointes and ventricular fibrillation.

Does cocaine cause heart failure?

2.2.1. Cardiomyopathy – Cocaine causes systolic dysfunction or LV failure, which results from reduced ejection fraction and an enlarged left ventricular chamber, Cocaine administration reduces myocardial contractility and ejection fraction and enhances left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and end-systolic volume,

It may cause non-ischemic myocardial depression, leading to dilated cardiomyopathies such as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a type of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, Previous studies reported that cocaine-induced cardiomyopathy, especially dilated cardiomyopathy, resulting from deprivation of myocardial oxygen supply despite increased demand for oxygen, leads to reduced coronary blood flow.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common consequence of long-term cocaine use and can lead to several complications including heart failure and heart-valve defects, Chronic abuse of cocaine is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, In addition, catecholamine toxicity from chronic cocaine use was shown to be associated with myocarditis, which was related to increased local immune reactions and myocardial necrosis,

How does cocaine cause dilated cardiomyopathy?

Acute and Chronic Presentation – Cocaine-induced cardiomyopathy (CIC) results from a deprivation of myocardial oxygen supply coupled with an increased demand for oxygen, which leads to a reduction in coronary blood flow. Deterioration of myocardial performance is a concern because a worsening of this situation leads to atherosclerosis and, ultimately, cardiomyopathy.7 Cocaine decreases myocardial contraction.

A lessening of coronary capacity and blood flow induces electrical irregularities in the heart, causing increased heart rate and blood pressure.9 Acute intoxication may cause nonischemic myocardial depression, leading to dilated cardiomyopathy.10 A subtype of cardiomyopathy, Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (“broken-heart syndrome”), has been associated with acute cocaine use.

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy presents abruptly, causing a substantial increase in catecholamines and, therefore, injury and dysfunction within the heart.10 Normal cardiac function is expected to return immediately upon cessation of cocaine intake. Case reports and autopsies of chronic cocaine users confirm dilated cardiomyopathy as the most common type of CIC.11-13 Catecholamine toxicity associated with chronic use leads to an increase in the activity of cytotoxic natural killer cells, causing myocarditis.14 This is significant because myocarditis is known to cause dilated cardiomyopathy.

Does cocaine cause myocarditis?

The following are key points to remember about the cardiovascular effects of cocaine:

Cocaine (chemically: benzoylmethylecgonine; structurally: 2-β-carbomethoxy-3-β-benzoxytropane) is a naturally occurring alkaloid extracted from the leaves of Erythroxylum coca. Cocaine is the leading cause for drug–abuse-related visits to emergency departments, most of which are due to cardiovascular complaints. Through its diverse pathophysiological mechanisms, cocaine exerts various adverse effects on the cardiovascular system, many times with grave results. Cocaine potentiates acute sympathetic effects on the cardiovascular system, with consequent increased inotropic and chronotropic effects, and increased peripheral vasoconstriction causing hypertension. Cocaine has been shown to induce vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis and cystic medial necrosis, with consequent vessel wall weakening, a pathological finding that may explain cocaine-related aortic, coronary, and carotid artery dissections. The mechanism behind cocaine-induced myocardial ischemia includes increased myocardial oxygen demand as a result of an increased inotropic and chronotropic effect, which is inappropriately accompanied by coronary vasoconstriction and a prothrombotic state. Patients who present with cocaine-related chest pain should be first evaluated by history, physical examination, and vital signs, followed by an electrocardiogram (ECG) and cardiac troponin. Patients who continue to have ST-segment elevation on their ECGs should be directly referred for coronary angiography with possible angioplasty and stent implantation. The 2012 ACC/AHA guidelines state that nonselective β-blockers might be considered in persistently hypertensive or tachycardic patients after cocaine use, provided that they were treated with a vasodilator. Cocaine has been shown to induce myocarditis, either through elevated levels of catecholamines, creating myocardial necrosis and local immune reaction, or from the induction of eosinophilic myocarditis. Both the increased prevalence of cigarette smoking and the inhaled crack might predispose cocaine users to chronic lung injury, with subsequent increased risk for pulmonary hypertension. The mechanisms involved in cocaine-related stroke include acute hypertension, endothelial dysfunction and vascular injury, a prothrombotic state, impaired cerebral blood flow, and cerebral artery vasoconstriction induced by cocaine’s sodium-blocking effect. Given the discouraging reports on the contemporary prevalence of cocaine abuse in teenagers, and even in children, there is a need to increase awareness of the deleterious effects of this perilous agent.

Keywords: Acute Coronary Syndrome, Adrenergic beta-Antagonists, Angioplasty, Apoptosis, Catecholamines, Cerebrovascular Circulation, Chest Pain, Coca, Cocaine, Cocaine-Related Disorders, Drug Users, Electrocardiography, Emergency Service, Hospital, Heart Failure, Hypertension, Hypertension, Pulmonary, Lung Injury, Muscle, Smooth, Vascular, Myocardial Infarction, Myocarditis, Smoking, Stents, Stroke, Troponin, Vascular Diseases, Vascular System Injuries, Vasoconstriction, Vasodilator Agents

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Does cocaine affect cholesterol?

– PubMed Background: Chronic cocaine users develop multiple potentially lethal ischemic vascular complications associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. Aim: To assess biochemical and lipid profiles among cocaine dependent subjects in recent abstinence.

Material and methods: A blood sample to measure blood count, biochemical and lipid profiles was obtained from 78 patients aged 19 to 53 years (78% males) who complied with DSM-IV criteria for cocaine dependency. Laboratory results were compared with a group of normal subjects. Results: All cases had positive urinary cocaine, with a mean consumption lapse of 7.6 years.

The frequency of smoking was higher in cases. Dependent males had higher body mass index than controls. Compared to controls, dependent females had significantly higher triglyceride (TG) levels and lower HDL cholesterol. Therefore the relation total/HDL cholesterol was higher (p = 0.0365).

Dependent males had higher TG levels than their normal counterparts. Dependent subjects consuming cocaine base-paste had higher TG levels. Total proteins, albumin, urea and blood urea nitrogen were lower in dependent subjects. Among males, serum creatinine was lower and blood urea was positively correlated with the daily amount of cocaine use (p = 0.03).

After a month of strict abstinence, lipid profile was repeated in 27 patients and remained unchanged. Conclusions: Chronic cocaine use was associated with higher TG in both genders and lower HDL cholesterol in women when compared with a group of healthy counterparts.

How does drugs affect the heart?

The more prominent drugs associated with cardiovascular disease are the stimulants and opioid drugs. These may increase the risk of vascular and/or heart disorders by disrupting the balance of certain neurotransmitters, called catecholamines, in the body and brain.

Can cocaine cause coronary artery disease?

Abstract – Cocaine is associated with important cardiac complications such as sudden death, acute myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy, life-threatening arrhythmias, and myocardial ischemia as well as infarction. It is well known that cocaine may induce vasospasm through adrenergic stimulation of the coronary arteries.

How do you clear a heart block?

Treatment – For second- and third-degree heart block, you may get a small device called a pacemaker in your chest. This is considered “minor” surgery and you’ll be sedated for it. Like a backup electrical system, it reminds the heart to beat at a normal rate if it slows or stops.

What heart block feels like?

Key points about heart block –

Heart block occurs when the electrical signals from the top chambers of your heart don’t conduct correctly to the bottom chambers of your heart. There are 3 types of heart block. First-degree heart block may cause few problems. Third-degree heart block can be life-threatening. Heart block may cause no symptoms. Or it may cause dizziness, fainting, the feeling of skipped or irregular heartbeats, trouble breathing, fatigue, or even cardiac arrest. Depending on your degree of heart block, you may not need treatment. For some, a pacemaker is advised.

Can you survive heart block?

Key points –

Heart block occurs when the electrical signals from the top chambers of your heart don’t conduct properly to the bottom chambers of your heart. There are three degrees of heart block. First degree heart block may cause minimal problems, however third degree heart block can be life-threatening. Heart block may cause no symptoms or it may cause dizziness, fainting, the feeling of skipped heart beats, chest pain, difficulty breathing, fatigue, or even cardiac arrest Depending on your degree of heart block, you may not need treatment, but for some, a pacemaker is advised.

What can induce a heart attack?

Overview – A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced or blocked. The blockage is usually due to a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances in the heart (coronary) arteries. The fatty, cholesterol-containing deposits are called plaques.

  1. The process of plaque buildup is called atherosclerosis.
  2. Sometimes, a plaque can rupture and form a clot that blocks blood flow.
  3. A lack of blood flow can damage or destroy part of the heart muscle.
  4. A heart attack is also called a myocardial infarction.
  5. Prompt treatment is needed for a heart attack to prevent death.

Call 911 or emergency medical help if you think you might be having a heart attack.

Can substance abuse cause a heart attack?

The abuse of cocaine is also linked to the increased risk of infections of heart muscle and other cardiac tissues 22. This leads to conditions such as endocarditis, which in turn may result in the increased risk of hospital re-admission for conditions such as stroke, arrythmia, heart attack and heart failure 25.