Cocaine is a very powerful drug. It can lead to very serious problems. In the ICU, these are often heart and lung problems that can even cause death.
What are common problems?
- Heart attack
- Heartbeats that are very fast or not normal
- High blood pressure
- Spasms of blood vessels around the heart that feel like a heart attack
- Stroke
- Coughing blood
- Breathing failure
- Death
What causes these problems?
- Cocaine injures blood vessels and causes narrowing and closing
- Blood vessels that close cause high blood pressure
- The heart and brain can have trouble getting enough blood and oxygen if the blood vessels close or narrow too much
- Cocaine can irritate blood vessels causing them to rip open
- Cocaine can cause lung injury with breathing failure
What is the treatment?
- Watch the heart beat, blood pressure and oxygen
- Do tests and check blood to make sure the heart is getting enough oxygen
- Check for headaches
How do doctors take care of people who use too much cocaine?
Things that some people need when they take too much cocaine:
- Placement on a breathing machine or oxygen
- Surgery to open up blood vessels near the heart
- Medicines
- To lower blood pressure
- To make the heart beat normal
- To help with pain
- People that may have used other substances (tobacco, alcohol, heroin, meth or prescription meds) along with cocaine can be very sick. You will receive help to stop drug and alcohol use or addiction. You may need to see a psychiatrist.
- If you have any questions about programs to help peoples stop using drugs ask to speak with a social worker or member of the care team. The social worker can give you names and phone numbers of groups that help people stop using drugs.