It is estimated that as many as 25 million people in the United States have used cocaine
at least once, 3.7 million people have used in the past year, and 1.5 million could
be classified as abusers of cocaine [
[1]
]. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2002, the lifetime prevalence
rate of cocaine use is 2.7% [
1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: summary findings. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Available at: http://www.health.org/govstudy/bkd376. Accessed November 10, 2004.
[2]
]. Cocaine is implicated as the cause of nontraumatic chest pain in 14% to 25% of patients
in urban centers and 7% of those in suburban areas [
Leshner A. NIDA research report: cocaine abuse and addiction. National Institutes of Health. Available at: http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Cocaine/Cocaine.html. Accessed November 10, 2004.
[3]
]. Chest pain is the most common complaint associated with cocaine use. As many as
25% of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI) in patients 18 to 45 years of age may be
attributed to cocaine use [
[4]
]. Many of these patients (60%) will continue to use cocaine, and some 75% of these
patients will develop recurrent chest pain [
[5]
].To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Footnotes
Portions of this article were previously published in Holstege CP, Rusyniak DE: Medical Toxicology. 89:6, Med Clin North Am, 2005; with permission.
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© 2006 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
