Can Cocaine Cause a Heart Attack?

How Does Cocaine Affect the Heart and Blood Vessels?

If you’re wondering about the effects of cocaine on the heart, there are many significant impacts that you should know about. Cardiovascular problems from the drug are owed to the way it affects the body, especially the heart and blood vessels, which can add up to a potentially life-threatening combination of problems.

Cocaine is a potent stimulant that can cause the heart rate and blood pressure to spike shortly after it’s taken. At the same time, it causes blood vessels to constrict. This combination effect means the heart has to work harder to do its job, while the heart is also struggling with reduced blood flow and oxygen levels that are reaching it during this intense period of activity. When this happens, the heart struggles to get enough nutrients and oxygen, and that can cause permanent damage that can become deadly.

While this presents its own dangers at the time of use, many people who have abused the drug for long periods of time will start to have permanent changes to how their heart functions and that makes them highly susceptible to growing cardiovascular problems, such as arrhythmias, structural damage of the heart, reduced blood flow to the heart, and other dangerous issues like tissue damage and heart infections. Long-term use can cause an increase in left-ventricular mass and a decrease in the volume of the left ventricular end. Over a prolonged period, this damage can lead to the person’s heart failing entirely.

One survey of 94 long-term cocaine users who had a mean cocaine use period of about 14 years found 71% had at least some form of cardiovascular disease that could be determined by imaging.

Can Even Occasional Cocaine Use Trigger a Heart Attack?

For those concerned about the risks of cocaine heart attacks, it’s essential to know that long-term use is clearly linked to heart damage and cardiovascular problems. Still, even just occasional use can put a hefty strain on the heart that can trigger things like heart attacks and other issues.

Using cocaine can cause several cardiovascular problems, especially increased blood pressure, which increases the risk of cardiovascular damage and heart attacks. It can also lead to coronary artery disease because it narrows blood flow through the vessels. Additionally, this drug can cause irregular heartbeats due to its effect on the electrical system of the heart. Eventually, people who use cocaine can start to suffer from congestive heart failure due to changes in how this muscle pumps blood.

One 2014 case report looked at the circumstances surrounding a 37-year-old woman who came to the hospital when she had chest pain after using cocaine. Cardiac specialists found she had signs of severe myocardial ischemia, which is when the blood flow to the heart muscle is reduced and can lead to a lack of oxygen. 

This can become a full-on myocardial infarction, or a heart attack, if the blood flow is restricted too much or stopped entirely. While this condition most frequently happens due to coronary artery blockages like plaque buildup, this woman’s problems were found to be due to cocaine use. In fact, she had recently undergone a coronary angiogram that hadn’t found any signs of limitations to her blood flow or coronary disease.

It’s estimated that cocaine is the cause of up to a quarter of heart attacks among people who are 18 to 45 years old, and people who use cocaine are said to have a 700 percent increase in risk of non-fatal heart attacks over their lives compared to non-users.

What Are the Signs of a Cocaine-Induced Heart Attack?

A cocaine heart attack often presents as severe chest pain, and a certain percentage of people who use cocaine will experience cocaine-related chest pain that will send them to the emergency room. While many are sent home soon because their troponin levels are found to be normal, this is a common way to check for possible signs of heart damage and heart attacks. Some people can experience a delayed heart attack because of cocaine damage.

There are several warning signs of a possible heart attack, including:

• Discomfort or tightness in the chest (especially in the center or on the left side). This can come and go or last for a considerable amount of time. Eventually, the discomfort can turn into a feeling of fullness or squeezing, as well as pressure and even pain.
• Shortness of breath.
• Dizziness, weakness, or feeling lightheaded or faint.
• Pain in the neck, back, or jaw.
• Discomfort or pain in an arm or shoulder (or even in both arms or shoulders).

If you or a loved one is experiencing possible symptoms of a heart attack, it’s essential that you get emergency medical attention that could save your life and prevent permanent damage from the myocardial infarction.

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Who Is Most at Risk for a Cocaine-Related Cardiac Event?

Now that you understand how a cocaine heart attack can happen, you might wonder who is most at risk for this life-threatening medical problem. There are clear links between long-term cocaine use and possible cardiovascular diseases that can make you more susceptible to heart attacks, strokes, and other medical emergencies. 

That’s why some of the dangers of an 8 ball of coke aren’t just what happens immediately after using the drug, but also how this can pave the way to permanent damage to the heart and blood vessels that can add up to a full-on heart attack down the road.

Several things can increase someone’s risk of a cocaine-related cardiac event, including:

• Chronic Use: Long-term cocaine use or bingeing on cocaine can cause structural changes and damage to the heart that can lead to a heart attack.

• Pre-Existing Cardiovascular Problems: Those who already have heart problems, such as high blood pressure, a history of heart attacks, and coronary artery disease, can be at a much greater risk of more issues if they use cocaine.

• Using Other Drugs: Those who use cocaine along with other substances, like alcohol or other drugs, can make its effects on the heart even worse.

• Cigarette Smoking: Smokers who use cocaine can have an increased risk of vascular problems and cardiovascular incidents.

• Young Age: Cocaine is dangerous no matter how old you are, but those in their teens or early adulthood can be at an even higher risk of sudden cardiac death due to cocaine.

• Demographics: Some populations are at an increased risk overall of cardiovascular problems from using cocaine, including African Americans and women who use the drug during pregnancy.

• Amount: High doses of cocaine used at once, or a hefty dose that’s administered rapidly, such as through injecting or smoking it, can put tremendous strain on the heart immediately and lead to problems.

Key Takeaways on Cocaine Heart Attack

• Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant that quickly causes many effects on users.
• This drug is linked to cardiovascular problems due to the way it makes the heart work harder while also limiting blood flow to the heart muscles.
• With long-term use, permanent damage to the heart and blood vessels can occur due to cocaine.
• Cocaine heart attacks are said to account for as much as a quarter of all non-fatal myocardial infarctions among those 18 to 45 years old.
• Quitting cocaine can significantly reduce your risk of heart attacks and other life-threatening cardiovascular conditions like strokes.

If you or a loved one is struggling with cocaine use, it’s time to get help, not just so you can have a better life, but also so your heart can get a break from the long-term impacts that happen due to this potent drug. Contact Resurgence Behavioral Health in Riverside, CA, today at 855-458-0050 to learn how we can help you achieve better results.

Resources

• Medical News Today – Short-Term vs. Long-Term Effects of Cocaine on the Heart and Body
• National Library of Medicine – Cocaine Use and Delayed Myocardial Ischaemia and/or Infarction
• National Library of Medicine – Cocaine and Cardiotoxicity: A Literature Review