Recreational Drug Use Tied to Repeat Cardiovascular Events
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Sept. 3, 2024 -- Recreational drug use is associated with a tripled risk for a repeat serious cardiovascular event within one year of hospitalization, according to a study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024, held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 in London.
Raphaël Mirailles, M.D., from Hospital Lariboisiere in Paris, and colleagues evaluated the prognostic impact of recreational drug use at one year after hospitalization to predict major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). The analysis included 1,392 patients admitted to intensive cardiac care units at 39 French centers over two weeks in April 2021 and followed for one year.
The researchers found that 11 percent of patients had an initial positive test for recreational drug use. Specifically, cannabis was identified in 9.8 percent, heroin and other opioids in 2.3 percent, cocaine in 1.7 percent, amphetamines in 0.6 percent, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in 0.6 percent. Of those testing positive, more than one-quarter of patients tested positive for two or more drugs (28.7 percent). At one year, 7 percent of patients experienced MACCE; this number was significantly higher among patients with positive drug tests versus nonusers (13 versus 6 percent). This risk tripled when adjusting for age, sex, diabetes, current smoking status, history of cardiovascular disease before hospitalization, known chronic kidney disease, history of cancer, the main admission diagnosis, baseline systolic blood pressure, and baseline heart rate. There were significant associations seen for MDMA (4.1 times increased risk), heroin and other opioids (3.6 times), and cannabis (1.8 times) with serious cardiovascular events.
"Despite high rate of underreporting of recreational drug use, systematic screening is not recommended by the current guidelines," Mirailles said in a statement. "It might improve risk stratification of patients and personalized care to favor drug withdrawal. Therefore, systemic screening should be considered in intensive care."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted September 2024
Read this next
Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Partly Mediate Association Between Prepregnancy Obesity, CVD Risk
MONDAY, April 21, 2025 -- Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) mediate a small proportion of the association between prepregnancy obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in...
One in 10 With Substance Use Disorder Report Past-Year Hospitalizations
THURSDAY, April 10, 2025 -- About one in 10 U.S. adults with substance use disorder (SUD) report past-year hospitalizations, according to a research letter published online April...
Handheld Electro-Shockers Pose Risk for Interaction With Implantable Cardiac Devices
WEDNESDAY, April 9, 2025 -- When applied to cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs), commercially available handheld electro-shockers pose a relevant risk for interaction...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.