Article by Only Health News.
A recent study showed that amphetamine users are three times more likely to suffer potentially fatal aortic tears than non-users.
The abuse of methamphetamines and prescription amphetamines are on the rise nationals. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that treatments in drug and alcohol addiction programs for methamphetamine and amphetamine abuse rose from four percent of total cases in 1995 to nine percent in 2005. This rise in treatment for these types of drugs has continued to be seen in drug addiction programs around the country in recent years. Meth and other amphetamines are cheap, easy to find and produce a potent high.
Professional counselors in drug rehabilitation centers can also tell you that these drugs are extremely dangerous as well as being addicting. Overdoses because of meth and other amphetamines are common as the nervous system and cardiovascular system are over stimulated. While using these drugs, a person’s heart rate and blood pressure can spike to dangerous levels along with triggered cardiac arrhythmias and other potential health problems.
But meth and other amphetamines pose long-term risks to a person’s cardiovascular health along with having the potential to cause major short-term problems. Frequent abuse of these drugs can do significant damage to a person’s heart, circulatory system and central nervous system, one major reason why it’s so important for a person with a serious problem to get checked into an addiction program sooner rather than later.
The August issue of the American Heart Journal brought more confirmation about the potentially deadly side effects of meth and amphetamine abuse if not treated in a drug rehab facility. The journal published a study by the UT Southwestern Medical Center which showed that people who abused amphetamines were three times more likely than a non-user to suffer a possibly fatal tear in the aortic dissection — the main artery leading from the heart.
The study’s lead author Dr. Arthur Westover said that while aortic tears are rare, the findings suggest that screening for tears should become standard practice for doctors dealing with amphetamine users during routine check-ups or before going into an addiction center for treatment.