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Would Using Opioids Raise Heart Disease Risk? Having played an important role in medicine as a powerful method of controlling pain, opioids is a class of drugs that are either made from the opium poppy or are artificially synthesized to function like these natural opioids. Several opioids currently used in medical care are buprenorphine, codeine, fentanyl, Oxycontin, methadone, morphine, Percocet and Vicodin. Opioids are specifically utilized to alleviate severe pain caused by temporary medical conditions like broken bones or post-operative pain, or pain associated with severe end-stage medical problems, especially terminal cancer. They tend to be very effective in these situations and because of their use is short-term, the risks associated with is minimal. These drugs, however, are high addictive and they can cause serious problems. Opioid addiction is causing an epidemic of overdose-related deaths. According to NIH (National Institute of Health), more than 30,000 deaths from opioid overdose in 2015 in the United States. Moreover, problems such as constipation, sedation, impaired ability to function, accidents and injuries, and urinary retention, can happen to patients who take them chronically even under supervision of a doctor who specializes in pain management.
Use of opioids can also develop heart disease
problems that are not generally known among the public or even by many doctors
since some the cardiac problems linked to opioids have just been uncovered.
People who develop opioid-related cardiovascular issues can have a major impact
on health.
For people who have an underlying heart problem that produces some degree of weakness in cardiac function, such as a cardiomyopathy, the combination of an opioid and a benzodiazepine can precipitate overt heart failure. Atrial fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm), which is a risk factor for stroke and heart attack, is often shown in people who use opioids. Bradycardia, or slow heart rate, can frequently be seen in opioids users. Though opioid bradycardia rarely causes symptoms at rest, it can lead to poor exercise tolerance because the heart rate would not increase normally with exercise. Opioids users can develop vasodilation (dilation of the blood vessels) that can cause hypotension (low blood pressure). When a person on opioids stands up quickly, he or she may experience a condition called orthostatic hypotension (sudden drop in blood pressure). Orthostatic hypotension can lead to severe light-headedness while upright, or even to syncope (fainting). When two opioids (methadone and buprenorphine) are used, a phenomenon on the ECG (electrocardiogram) can be induced. The phenomenon is known as QT prolongation, which can produce a dangerous form of ventricular tachycardia called torsades de pointes in some people. It may cause episodes of severe light-headedness, syncope, or even lead to sudden death. Infectious endocarditis is a life-threatening infection of the heart valves, or other structures in the heart. It tends to be seen in older people with underlying heart valve disease. In recent years, it occurs in many younger people who have abused intravenous opioids. Infectious endocarditis has a high mortality rate, and survivors are commonly left with chronic cardiac disease. A study that was published June 14, 2016 in the ‘Journal of the American Medical Association’ revealed a link between opioid usage and cardiovascular death. Patients who received prescribed opioids for chronic non-cancer pain for the first time had a 64 percent higher risk of early death when compared to patients who were given an alternative pain medication. While the cause is still speculative, one theory is that chronic opioid use may cause sleep-disordered breathing, a condition associated with cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks, and sudden death. Researchers of the study suggested that alternate pain medications should be used instead of opioids whenever possible, particularly for those patients who have a history of heart disease, heart attack or diabetes. Perhaps, more studies should be carried out to confirm their findings, and more importantly to ascertain the possible causes.
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