HHS HealthBeat (August 08, 2008)

The high and the heart attack

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Amphetamines are the high that can lay you low. Researchers say young adults who abuse amphetamines have a higher risk of a heart attack.

Arthur Westover of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found that in 18- to 44-year-olds who were hospitalized from 2000 to 2003 in Texas.

Westover says the study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence is the first large-scale look at what researchers have suspected. He says the risk makes sense based on how amphetamines work:

``They have numerous effects on the body, including raising heart rate and blood pressure. Increased blood pressure is a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.’’ (6 seconds)

And he says he’s worried that the number of heart attacks related to amphetamine abuse may be rising.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August, 12 2008