I will be completely honest here, I am a recovering addict and my drug of choice was crack cocaine (no crackhead jokes, ok?). I have been clean for a couple years. But my question is this. Can a crack cocaine overdose cause a heart attack? I had all the symptoms...nausea, cold sweats, extremely rapid heartbeat, chest pain radiating to my left shoulderand down my arm, the pain was radiating around to my back.
2006-09-17 20:52:58 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Heart Diseases
OK here is the deal.
cocian can affect the heart in 2 ways.
# 1 acutelly causing coronary vasospasm leading to heart attack on the spot.
# 2 chronically causing vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels) that can cause coronary artery disease.
you can NOT have heart attach now because you are still alive, but may be(just may be), you need to check with your doctor who may refer you to a cardiologist who will do stress test.
Good luck
2006-09-17 21:00:07 · answer #1 · answered by drinda_house 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No joke here, because cocaine can cause a heart attack the very first time you use it. I personally witnessed the 16 year old date of a neighbor have an heart attack as a result of cocaine use. He didn't want to tell and get in trouble but fortunately his girlfriend was scared enough to call for help. He ended up in CCU and had to have a heart cath done.
You describe classic heart attack symptoms (although they could have other causes) , but you don't sat when this happened. If it was recent, you need to call 911 right now, because the damage could be progressing. You can survive the initial heart attack even without treatment and die later from the havoc to your heart. If you aren't allergic, take an adult size aspirin or four baby aspirin and chew them and swallow with a bit of water now. You also want to sit quietly or lie down- DO NOT drive yourself to the hospital.
If this happened back when you were using, there are test to determine if damage was done and you should schedule an appointment to be tested, first with an EKG, and then other tests as needed. If it happened once, it can happen again, so it pays to do what you can to reduce risks.
You've taken a positive step to get clean, so take good care of yourself as well.
2006-09-18 04:02:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please see the webpages for more details on Cocaine.
Overdose causes tachyarrhythmias and a marked elevation of blood pressure. These can be life-threatening, especially if the user has existing cardiac problems.
If taken with alcohol, cocaine combines with the ethanol in the liver to form cocaethylene, which is both more euphorigenic and has higher cardiovascular toxicity than cocaine by itself.
It appears that you have got disturbed heart rhythm which may sometimes become fatal.
Please take ECG and consult a Cardiologist.
2006-09-18 05:01:28 · answer #3 · answered by gangadharan nair 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes a crack cocaine OD can cause a heart attack because as you might now crack is much like speed and too much speeds the heart up way to much and if that happens it shuts down. Good luck, hope you stay clean.
2006-09-18 04:11:56 · answer #4 · answered by Demion V 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would think any drugs taken out of context could be fatal! Overdoses definitely have given people strokes, heart attacks etc! Who knows, crack cocaine may have the same characteristics as vioxx or one of those drugs that killed so many unsuspecting people.
2006-09-18 20:21:12 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes crack causes all sorts of troubles with your heart. Depending on how long you used, you should get a cardiac work up done. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. Congrats for staying clean and best of luck to you.
2006-09-18 04:05:28 · answer #6 · answered by loveorlust06 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it could cause a heart attack i would go see a doctor about this. But it could be bc you are having withdraws still. but just to make sure what this is go see your doctor or at least call
well good luck and be proud that you are recovering i tip my hat off to ya.
2006-09-18 03:57:27 · answer #7 · answered by knowssignlanguage 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah it definitely can and you should really go to a doctor to make sure everythings okay in there! Hope you're still clean... peace.
2006-09-18 04:02:34 · answer #8 · answered by Nicole 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes...it can...that is why coke is so bad for ya...I'd call the emergency and tell them your symptoms....also...take an aspirin..regular ole aspirin....chew it up and swallow....if you are not alergic to aspirin....this will help if you really think you could be having a heart attack.
2006-09-18 03:58:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This has never been reported. I think your symptoms were probably mental.
2006-09-18 09:53:59 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋