Drug Abuse and Cardiac Problem
Medicine Today – February 10, 2014
Source: OpenAlex
Summary
Substance abuse, an epidemic in many nations, profoundly impacts the heart and circulation, causing significant morbidity. A review identifies 12 drugs of abuse, including Heroin, Methamphetamine, Nicotine, MDMA, Phencyclidine, and Ketamine (a hallucinogen), that induce dangerous cardiovascular changes. This pharmacology is critical for Medicine and Psychiatry. Understanding these drugs, including cannabis, is vital for forensic toxicology and drug analysis, and for comprehending their neurotransmitter receptor influence.
Abstract
Drug abuse has reached epidemic proportions in many countries including Bangladesh and threatens to overwhelm economic, social, and health care systems. In addition to their effects on the central nervous system, many of these agents induce profound changes in the heart and circulation that are responsible for a significant proportion of drug-related morbidity. Drugs that can affect the cardiovascular system are cocaine, heroin, inhalants, ketamine, lysergic acid diethylamide(LSD), marijuana,3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine(MDMA), methamphetamine, nicotine, phencyclidine (PCP), prescription stimulants, steroids .This article reviews the cardiovascular problems associated with drug abuse. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i2.17928 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(2): 90-92