CARDIOVASCULAR EFFECTS AND TOXICITIES OF COCAINE (FROM COCAINE: PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOPATHOLOGICAL EFFECTS, P 71- 82, 1992, ALFONSO PAREDES AND DAVID A GORELICK, EDS.)

• NCJ Number: 141648
• Author(s): K Nademanee
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 DA04 585-03
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Sale Source: Haworth Press, Inc
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Cocaine exerts a myriad of adverse cardiovascular effects that are dependent on the dose, rate of administration, and duration of use.

Abstract

The drug has two primary pharmacologic actions; it is a powerful sympathomimetic agent and a local anesthetic. The drug blocks the presynaptic re-uptake of catecholamines that result in the marked hormonal increase at the postsynaptic receptor sites. These effects, in turn, lower the threshold for coronary vasoconstriction and vasospasm, myocardial ischemia and infarction. In addition, the drug's multiple pharmacologic and electrophysiologic cardiovascular actions can promote arrhythmias, myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, as well as unmasking subclinical diseases. Long-term cocaine use can cause autonomic disturbances and alter catecholamine homeostasis; chronic cocaine addicts face serious cardiovascular sequelae from the drug's multiple adverse effects. It is important to assess the prevalence of cocaine-related cardiovascular diseases, to understand how the drug affects the autonomic nervous system, and to determine its long-term effects on the cardiovascular system. Research is needed so that clinicians can better treat cocaine-induced heart disease. 28 references