Accelerated Ventricular Rhythm and Cocaine Abuse
Authors: ALBERTO BENCHIMOL
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1978)

Brief Reports1 April 1978Accelerated Ventricular Rhythm and Cocaine AbuseALBERTO BENCHIMOL, M.D., F.A.C.P., HAIM BARTALL, M.D., KENNETH B. DESSER, M.D., F.A.C.P.ALBERTO BENCHIMOL, M.D., F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this author, HAIM BARTALL, M.D.Search for more papers by this author, KENNETH B. DESSER, M.D., F.A.C.P.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-88-4-519 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptCocaine has the peculiar quality of being both a local anesthetic and a sympathomimetic agent with powerful central nervous-system stimulant effects. In small doses cocaine can slow the heart rate, but larger amounts produce an increased heart rate and elevation of blood pressure. The latter effects are presumably mediated by theinfluence of this drug on the central and peripheral sympathetic nervous system. Extremely high doses can have a direct toxic action on heart muscle, thereby resulting in cardiac arrest.We describe here a patient with accelerated ventricular rhythm arising as a consequence of cocaine abuse. To our knowledge this...References1. FISCHMANSCHUSTERRESNEKOVSHICKKRASNEGORFENNELLFREEDMAN MCLJNWD: Cardiovascular and subjective effects of intravenous cocaine administration in humans. Arch Gen Psychiatry 33:983-989, 1976 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. ORRJONES DI: Anaesthesia for laryngoscopy. A comparison of the cardiovascular effects of cocaine and lignocaine. Anaesthesia 23:194-202, 1968 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. TRENDELENBURG U: Modification of the effect of tyramine by various agents and procedures. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 134:8-17, 1961 MedlineGoogle Scholar4. KALSNERNICKERSON SM: Mechanism of cocaine potentiation of responses to amines. Br J Pharmacol 35:428-439, 1969 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. LICHSTEINRIBAS-MENECLIERGUPTACHADDA ECPK: Incidence and description of accelerated ventricular rhythm complicating acute myocardial infarction. Am J Med 58:192-198, 1975 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Good Samaritan Hospital Phoenix, Arizona PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByStimulantiaCocaine and coronary artery diseasesCorrected QT interval during treatment with methadone and buprenorphine—Relation to doses and serum concentrationsStimulantiaElectrocardiographic findings associated with cocaine use in humans: a systematic reviewCocaine-Induced Seizures, Arrhythmias, and Sudden DeathPrevalence and clinical relevance of corrected QT interval prolongation during methadone and buprenorphine treatment: a mortality assessment studyManagement of cocaine-induced cardiac arrhythmias due to cardiac ion channel dysfunctionSubstance Abuse and the HeartCocaine ‘body packers’The effect of amiodarone pretreatment on survival of mice with cocaine toxicityElectrocardiographic changes indicating surgery on cocaine body-packersAn Engineered Cocaine Hydrolase Blunts and Reverses Cardiovascular Responses to Cocaine in RatsCardiovascular disorders associated with cocaine use: myths and truthsStimulantiaAccelerated Idioventricular Rhythm Associated with Desflurane AdministrationPathophysiology of cocaine abuseEnhancement of nitric oxide production by methylecgonidine in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytesCombined effects of cocaine and nicotine on cardiovascular performance in a canine modelEffects of cocaine on the coronary arteriesEvidence for cocaine and methylecgonidine stimulation of M 2 muscarinic receptors in cultured human embryonic lung cellsCocaine Abuse: Repolarization Abnormalities and Ventricular ArrhythmiasToxische KardiomyopathienComparative Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate and Sodium Chloride on Reversing Cocaine-Induced Changes in the ElectrocardiogramCardiotoxic mechanisms and interrelationships of cocaine: including a single case depicting several of these mechanismsButyrylcholinesterase: an enzyme antidote for cocaine intoxicationStimulantiaCocaine: Pathophysiology and clinical toxicologyTherapeutic Use of Butyrylcholinesterase for Cocaine IntoxicationCocaine-induced wide complex dysrhythmiaStimulantiaEthanol Potentiates the Depressant Effects of Cocaine in Human Fetal Myocardium In VitroNonatherosclerotic causes of coronary artery narrowing-Part IIIDiagnostic indicators in the early recognition of severe cocaine intoxication.The Role of the Human Laboratory in Drug Abuse ResearchElectrophysiologic effects of intranasal cocaineEffect of Cocaine on Left Ventricular FunctionCardiovascular Complications of CocaineCardiac complications of cocaine abuseCocaine: A Review of Its Toxic Actions on Cardiac FunctionCocaine-Related Sudden Cardiac Death: A Hypothesis Correlating Basic Science and Clinical ObservationsThe Effects of Lidocaine Pretreatment on Cocaine Neurotoxicity and Lethality in MiceCardiovascular Manifestations of Cocaine AbuseImaging of cardiac neuronal function after cocaine exposure using Carbon-11 hydroxyephedrine and positron emission tomographyAcute cardiotoxic effects of cocaine and a hyperadrenergic state in anesthetized dogsUnraveling the complex effects of cocaine on the heart.Electrophysiological effects of high cocaine concentrations on intact canine heart. 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