This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Heroin and heart disease

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • most serious effect of heroin is to slow the rate of breathing, which may lead to respiratory failure and cardiac arrest - commonest cause of death in heroin users
  • Heroin also slows heart rate and lowers blood pressure through a combination of CNS and peripheral actions, and may be associated with pulmonary oedema
  • the most serious effects of heroin on the heart and blood vessels result from its mode of use – by injection – rather than from the drug itself. Intravenous injection of contaminated heroin can cause infective endocarditis, while groin injecting can lead to deep vein thrombosis

Reference:

  1. British Heart Foundation (6/2003).Factfile - illicit drugs and the heart.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.