permenant heart damage from cocaine?

Question

For about three years, I would go on a binge of about two months on and 4-6 months off. The two months on would be almost every day, about 1/3 of a gram a day give or take. For the first couple years all was fine, then lately I began to feel like crap. Sometimes my chest feels tight, brain feels heavy, or theres a little sharp pain behind my sternum. It doesn't feel like my heart but it's the same area and that can't be good. Lungs perhaps? but anyway...

I didn't do it for the last 7 months, then I did just a little the other day. I felt like crap, and said the heck with this. I don't want to die or damage my body. I definitely feel better as the days go on and that 7 month mark gets longer.

I am 28 and pretty healthy. Is it possible I damaged something? Is there a medicine or vitamin I can take to help my body? Should I go to the doctor and get an MRI or cat-scan for more details, or am I young enough that quitting should fix me? thanks

Answer 1

First of all quit binge, than contact your doctor. In my experience most of the patient didn't develop any cardiac pathology.
Consult your cardiologist and he will advise you correctly.
This answer is short but I don't believing irrelevant suggestion to patients in absentia, so the above is the best solution.

Answer 2

Eight days ago we just buried our oldest son. He would have turned 37 next month.

He did cocaine for about two years in his late teens.

The autopsy report came back saying his heart was double the size of a normal heart for a man his height, size and weight.

To anyone out there considering using cocaine...........even if you are in you're teens, you think you are immortal but you are not and cocaine and all the other drugs will take it's tool on you. You may not care now, live for the moment but my son left behind a 12 year old daughter, a grieving father, mother and brothers.

You want to get high? Run a marathon for charity. Climb a mountain. Go to Paris or Italy for the summer. Don't ruin you're heart. ____ is now in a pretty black box, six feet under rotting away. He will never see another sunset, get another kiss, know his daughter as a grown up, or bury my husband and me.

I would have rather it were me in his place. My heart is breaking.

Choices you make now, drugs, the friends you choose, the person you marry, these are all very important life choices.

The young think they are immortal but I've had several friends tell me they know of someone who has buried a child, niece, nephew, grandson from cocaine done awhile back.

My son had been off cocaine, the Toxicology Report came back with him only having had a small (normal) amount of alcohol. The cocaine our son did years back took it's toll.

If you have done cocaine, see a good heart specialist and tell them the truth and have you're heart, valves and circulatory system checked out every year very carefully. Get a blood panel for cholesterol, eat healthy, exercise, DON'T SMOKE!

I would not wish the heartache my husband and I now have on anyone.

I did not have a Yahoo account, but if this one blog saves just one person, maybe Michael would not have died in vain.

36 was too young to die. I really wanted to go before him. No parent should ever have the heartache of burying their oldest child.

Dr. Qutub and Michael N. are correct, see a heart specialist immediately and have you're heart, valves, arteries and veins checked out meticulously each year.

Don't ignore this and think it will go away. Michael did and he only did it like you did, very occasionally and for only a couple years.

Answer 3

Yes, cocaine can do permanent heart damage.

At your age, if you go to ER with heart pain, it will be one of the first things they ask you.

They typically suspect cocaine in anyone who looks fit, and otherwise not likely to be a heart disease patient. I know because I have been asked about it in ER.

I don't recall the damage precisely, but on the inside of arteries, cocaine damages the lining, making them susceptible to plaque build-up and narrowing. In addition, I think it may in general weaken the arteries and make them aneurysmal. They will get weak and puffy. Then you are susceptible to having a cardiac artery rupture.

Sure hope you enjoyed the cocaine.

Answer 4

Yes and it is possible for the heart to repair itself but it some cases depending on usage etc irreversible damage may occur. I would just stop the cocaine!

Answer 5

Please go get yourself checked out. My husband does the same thing and I worry about his health terribly. I talked my doctor about it in confidence and she said there are several different long term problems caused by regular or even semi-regular cocaine use, including heart problems. Go to your doctor, be honest and get a check up. Good for you for realizing that life is wayyy too important to waste being wasted!

Answer 6

Cocaine Damage Reversible

Answer 7

A myocardial infarction (MI) is damage to the heart muscle, or myocardium, that results from a lack of blood flow to the heart. The word acute is used to describe a heart attack because symptoms and damage occur suddenly. People who suffer heart attacks require immediate medical attention.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

If treatment begins soon after symptoms start, heart attack deaths and heart damage can often be avoided. Each heart attack is different and may have different symptoms.

Although different people make different comparisons to express the discomfort they feel, some common symptoms include:
Chest discomfort that may start out feeling mild and build in intensity;
Discomfort in other areas of the upper body;
Shortness of breath;
Breaking out in a cold sweat;
Feeling dizzy, light-headed or nauseated; or
Belching or vomiting.
Physicians recommend that people chew an aspirin as soon as they notice the warning signs of a heart attack, because studies have shown aspirin improves the chances of survival.

CAUSES AND RISK FACTORS

The risk of having a heart attack rises with age for men and women. Other risks factors that contribute to the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) include:
Smoking;
Family history of heart disease;
Diabetes mellitus;
High cholesterol levels or lipid disorders;
Hypertension, or high blood pressure;
Eating a diet high in fat and cholesterol;
Not exercising regularly;
Being overweight; and
Using cocaine.
DIAGNOSIS

The two most common tools physicians use to diagnose MI are electrocardiogram (ECG) and a blood test that identifies chemicals associated with a heart attack. Other tests a physician may use include:
Angiography;
ECG stress testing;
Nuclear stress testing; and
Echocardiography.
TREATMENT APPROACH

Emergency care. Restoring blood flow to the heart within 1 hour of the onset of a heart attack can prevent or limit damage to the heart muscle and can also decrease the chance of a repeat attack. To restore blood flow to the heart muscle, physicians use thrombolytic therapy, sometimes referred to as clot-busting therapy, or a minimally invasive procedure known as angioplasty.

Post-emergency care. Once emergency treatment for MI has been given and tests have confirmed that a heart attack has occurred, the goals of treatment become addressing severe CHD that may be present, preventing further damage to the heart muscle, and minimizing the risk of a repeat MI.

Medications prescribed to people who have had a heart attack include antiplatelets, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers.

In some cases, angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft surgery may be recommended after a heart attack.

When medication does not adequately increase blood supply to the heart, surgery may be necessary to treat the CHD that causes angina symptoms. Current surgical options for treating angina because of CHD include coronary angioplasty, also called balloon angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES

There are some beneficial steps people can take to minimize their risk of having an acute MI. For instance, lifestyle changes can help control high blood pressure, and other risk factors for CHD. These changes include:
Quitting smoking;
Eating to reduce high blood cholesterol;
Maintaining a healthy weight; and
Being physically active each day.