Cardiovascular and thrombosis pathology associated with cocaine use.

After decades of focus on the effects of cocaine abuse on the central nervous system (CNS), the cardiovascular toxicity of cocaine is just beginning to be appreciated. The most common cardiovascular pathologies associated with cocaine use include: cardiomyopathy, left ventricular dysfunction, myocarditis, arrhythmia, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, arterial thrombosis, deep vein thrombosis, and gastrointestinal, renal, and skeletal muscle ischemia. This article reviews the above pathologies with speculations on the mechanisms by which cocaine produces cardiovascular tissue damage.