Illegal drugs increase your chances of developing atrial fibrillation

Illegal drugs increase your chances of developing atrial fibrillation

Methamphetamines, cocaine, opiates and cannabis are associated with an increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation, according to an 11-year study of more than 23 million adults published today in the European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). .

The risk of cardiac arrhythmia was increased in illicit drug users regardless of established predisposing factors such as age, obesity, tobacco use, alcohol abuse, heart disease and diabetes.

This was the first large, long-term study to examine the association between methamphetamines, cocaine, opiates, cannabis and atrial fibrillation. All four medications were associated with a higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation than many traditional risk factors, including high cholesterol and diabetes. This suggests that avoiding these substances could help prevent the disease.”

Gregory Marcus, Professor, study author, University of California, San Francisco, USA

Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia worldwide.2 Symptoms include heart palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue and difficulty sleeping. Atrial fibrillation increases the risk of stroke fivefold. The disease is associated with a two-fold increased risk of death in women and a 1.5-fold increased risk in men. Alcohol and tobacco smoking have each been associated with a
increased risk of atrial fibrillation, but connections with other medications are poorly known.

The study was conducted using databases from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. The analysis included all adults in California who did not have atrial fibrillation and were treated in an emergency room, day surgery, or hospital from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2015. The study included 23,561,884 participants. Of these, 98,271 used methamphetamine, 48,700 cocaine, 10,032 opiates and 132,834 cannabis. A total of 998,747 participants (4.2%) developed atrial fibrillation during the 11-year study.

Researchers analyzed associations between use of each substance and a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation after controlling for factors that could influence the association, including age, gender, obesity, tobacco use, alcohol abuse, income, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. Methamphetamine use was associated with nearly twice the risk of atrial fibrillation, with a hazard ratio of 1.86. The corresponding hazard ratios for opiates, cocaine, and cannabis were 1.74, 1.61, and 1.35, respectively.

Professor Marcus said: "Although the association was weakest for cannabis, it was still associated with a higher likelihood of a new diagnosis of atrial fibrillation than known risk factors such as dyslipidemia and diabetes, which had a risk ratio of 1.26 and 1.24 respectively. Cannabis use." carries a similar relative risk of atrial fibrillation as tobacco use, which has a hazard ratio of 1.32.”

The researchers also examined the influence of the number of medications and frequency of consumption. Participants who used two or more illicit drugs were 1.63 times more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than single drug users. In terms of frequency, drug-dependent participants had a similar risk of atrial fibrillation as episodic users.

Professor Marcus said: "In an analysis of unprecedented scale, we have shown that users of illicit drugs are at significantly higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared to non-users. More than 60% of patients with atrial fibrillation have a significantly reduced quality of life. Strokes associated with this condition are often fatal or disabling.2 As some regions move to legalize “For recreational cannabis businesses and enacting more lenient laws for the use of other illicit drugs, our research suggests caution should be exercised and the importance of disseminating information about the potential harms.”

Source:

European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

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