Saturday, April 5, 2008
Cocaine Heart and Overdose…What You Need to know
by John Carcerano (drawing courtesy of u of m hospital studies)
There are a few common used treatments for heart attacks that can be deadly to those who use cocaine:
Drugs for clot busting can have a large risk of bleading in the brain by patients who have high blood pressure due to the use of cocaine.
Beta blockers which can lower blood pressure without constricting the arteries in a normal heart attack patient could have the opposite effect on those who use cocaine. Where as they can cause the blood pressure to increase and the arteries to narrow even more.
Drugs for clot busting can have a large risk of bleading in the brain by patients who have high blood pressure due to the use of cocaine.
Beta blockers which can lower blood pressure without constricting the arteries in a normal heart attack patient could have the opposite effect on those who use cocaine. Where as they can cause the blood pressure to increase and the arteries to narrow even more.
The reason for cocaine heart symptoms is caused by the drug constricting the arteries more narrow during cocaine use. (see diagram)
Nearly 1/4 of all heart attacks in those aged 18-46 comes from cocaine use. The problem that’s occurring with these cocaine heart attacks is that the sufferers are not telling the emergency room physicians that they use cocaine. They fear the embarrasment and possible legal consequences. But there are in reality no legal consequences for admitting drug or cocaine use to a treating physician. This information is kept confidential. The care givers job is to make you well and save your life, not judge you.
If you have blocking of your arteries then you are at an extreme risk for a cocaine triggered heart attack. Cocaine use raises your blood pressure, and it does this by constricting your arteries. An artery that is already partially blocked will only block further and trigger a heart attack. Those who have not used cocaine in several years and then go back to using are at a very great risk of cocaine heart related problems due to the fact that thier arteries may have become partially blocked from heart disease and they are unaware of this.
If you have blocking of your arteries then you are at an extreme risk for a cocaine triggered heart attack. Cocaine use raises your blood pressure, and it does this by constricting your arteries. An artery that is already partially blocked will only block further and trigger a heart attack. Those who have not used cocaine in several years and then go back to using are at a very great risk of cocaine heart related problems due to the fact that thier arteries may have become partially blocked from heart disease and they are unaware of this.
A Story of a “Cocaine Heart” Sufferer
I was In the hospital visiting a client who was rushed to the emergency room due to cocaine related heart problems. She basically was on the verge of a heart attack. It happened after she had a slip, she was virtually cocaine free for almost 3 years when this drama occurred. She was rushed by ambulence because she was having a hard time breathing, pains in her leg chest and upper right arm. She was very close to suffering a heart attack. I remember putting several blankets on her in the emergency room and she kept complaining to me to find more blankets because she was freezing. Not a pleasant sight, nor was it easy for her to experience this pain and trauma. All brought on by what the attending physician simply described as a “cocaine heart”. If you use cocaine you always think it will happen to someone else. At some point, if you continue using cocaine, you will be that somebody else. http://www.newjourneyrecovery.com/
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