SubscribeExperts warn against ‘safe cocaine’ myth
Posted on Jan 13, 2010 under diverse ideas, health & wellness | Comments are off
As they may say that cocaine is a “safe party drug” it is definitely a BIG myth that must be dispelled, experts say, as a study shows the drug is linked to 3% of sudden deaths. The British Heart Foundation said the findings, published in the European Heart Journal, were a reminder that the drug can have devastating effects. Although the data comes from south-west Spain, researchers said the results should apply in general.
They said anyone could suffer the deadly consequences of taking cocaine. Fotini Rozakeas of the British Heart Foundation said: “The reality is that there are risks every time you use it.”Cocaine can have devastating effects on the user including heart attacks, life-threatening heart rhythms, strokes and even sudden death. “The potential deadly consequences from cocaine use can happen to anyone who takes it, even in previously young healthy people with no history of heart disease.”
In the study, 21 out of 668 sudden deaths were related to cocaine use and all of these occurred in men aged between 21 and 45. Most involved problems with the heart and the majority of the men were also smokers and had been drinking alcohol at the same time as taking cocaine.