Young people who abuse amphetamines are at greater risk of damaging the most important artery, the aorta, according to an American study reported in the American Heart Journal.
Previous studies have shown that people addicted to amphetamine or abusing it more often have problems with the cardiovascular system. In their earlier work, the team of Dr. Arthur Westover of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, linked the use of the drug to a higher risk of stroke and heart attack.
It has now been found that amphetamine also increases the likelihood of aortic dissection aneurysm. The aorta is the largest artery in the body – its branches carry blood from the heart to all tissues.
A dissecting aneurysm occurs when the inner lining of the aorta breaks and delaminates from the rest of the wall. Two channels of blood flow are formed in the stratified vessel: primary, that is, real, and new, or pseudo-channels. The widening delamination can also penetrate the outer wall of the vessel, causing death.
Researchers analyzed data from the health records of 31 million people aged 18-49 who were hospitalized between 1995 and 2007. A total of 3.116 cases of main artery dissecting aneurysm were identified.
They found that the risk of this event was more than three times higher in patients who abused amphetamines. The largest number of cases associated with this drug was found in four states: California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii, where amphetamines are very common.
A similar analysis was carried out among 49 million people aged 50 and over and found no relationship between drug use and aortic damage.
For now, scientists do not know how to explain these differences between younger and older patients.
Aortic dissecting aneurysm is very rare in young people, but is often fatal, emphasizes Dr. Westover. In his opinion, doctors should ask patients with this disorder about the use of amphetamines to better determine its cause.
Amphetamine and its derivatives are psychotropic agents, i.e. agents that stimulate the central nervous system. Some of them are used in medicine, for example in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Amphetamine is also one of the most used drugs.
Amphetamine has a similar effect on the body to cocaine and similarly negatively affects the heart and circulatory system. For example, it is known to raise blood pressure, and hypertension is a known risk factor for dissecting aneurysm. (PAP)