Cocaine and rock cocaine, also known as crack, are powerful illegal stimulants that cause serious negative health effects. Cocaine has been used since 1860, when it was first isolated from South American coca leaves. Crack cocaine became popular in the United States in 1980s due to its powerful effects from immediate absorption through the lungs.
Heart Damage
Cocaine and crack act as central nervous system stimulants and increase the heart rate well beyond the healthy limit. A cocaine user's blood pressure can increase at an alarming rate after the initial dose and continue to increase at each subsequent dose. As the drug wears off rapidly, this can cause further stress on the heart by lowering the blood pressure back to normal at an unhealthy descent. According to the American Heart Association, cocaine is the illicit drug that causes the most visits to hospital emergency departments. The two most common types of heart damage associated with cocaine and crack are ischemia and infarction. Ischemia refers to blood vessel damage from severe constriction, while infarction refers to tissue death due to lack of oxygen.
Respiratory Damage
Smoking crack can also cause major damage to the respiratory system. The damage can be caused by the cocaine itself as well as the chemical agents used to convert it into smokable rock form. Many of the chemical agents used in making crack are both dangerous and impure. Damage to the respiratory system can affect the throat, esophagus, bronchial pathways and the upper and lower lungs. In the July 2007 issue of "RadioGraphics," Dr. Carlos Restrepo and associates stated that smoking crack significantly increased respiratory inflammation, fibrosis, throat damage, hypertension, hemorrhaging, asthma and emphysema. In addition, in the September 2008 issue of "Emerging Infectious Diseases," Dr. Alistair Story and associates stated that smoking crack increases the risk for smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. Smear positive tuberculosis refers to the stage of the disease where it is actively infectious and detectable in the saliva. The lung damage caused by smoking crack significantly increases a person's risk for opportunistic infection.
Brain Damage and Psychosis
Mental instability is another serious side effect of cocaine and crack. Cocaine and crack can seriously impair a user's judgment due to feelings of invincibility, sexual overconfidence and desire for risk taking. The American Council for Drug Education states that cocaine and crack can causing strokes, seizures, fungal brain infections and hemorrhaging within the brain. In addition, they state that cocaine and crack can cause psychotic behaviors such as paranoia, depression, anxiety and delusions. In the August 2007 issue of "Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment," Dr. Joao Nunes and associates stated that cocaine-induced psychosis was nearly identical to the symptoms of schizophrenia. In both cases, the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine were significantly imbalanced, causing mental instability, confusion, anxiety and depression.
References
- American Heart Association: Management of Cocaine-Associated Chest Pain and Myocardial Infarction
- "RadioGraphics"; Pulmonary Complications from Cocaine and Cocaine-based Substances: Imaging Manifestations; Dr. Carlos Restrepo; July 2007
- Emerging Infectious Disease: "Crack Cocaine and Infectious Tuberculosis"
- American Council on Drug Education: Cocaine
- Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment: Novel Research Translates to Clinical Cases of Schizophrenic and Cocaine Psychosis
