Cocaine Can Damage Heart

In addition to causing nerve damage and brain, the drug must also bear the risk of hidden cocaine. The risk of heart disease lurks silently, without symptoms of cocaine.

A new study suggests that heart damage caused by the weight of cocaine can occur without symptoms.

In the study, researchers evaluated the cardiac health of 30 long-term cocaine users, the average age of 37 who entered drug rehabilitation programs 48 hours after the last use of cocaine. The study participants had used cocaine for an average of 12 years and consumes about 5.5 grams of cocaine per day.

Normal cardiac function for all users of cocaine, but 12 of them had localized disease, 83 percent had suffered structural damage and 47 percent swelling (edema) at the base of the left ventricle. Edema associated with cocaine.

"The swelling is an indicator of new damage and reversible, but not fibrosis," said the researchers, led Health24, Saturday (25/06/2011).

The researchers also found that 73 percent of drug addicts in the heart of scar tissue (fibrosis), which is caused by a silent myocardial infarction (heart attack, silent), or toxic damage.

After the publication of research results that have been dipublikan in Journal Heart, about 1 in 5 addicts had myocarditis, inflammation of heart muscle. And used in the quarter under 45-year-olds, one from a non-fatal myocardial infarction by cocaine.

More than half of the participants pecanduan cocaine, other materials, such as heroin and alcohol. And 1 to 5 of those with hepatitis C or HIV infected.