Imaging of cocaine-induced global and regional myocardial ischemia
- Brookhaven National Laboratory, Medical Department, Upton, New York (USA)
Severe and often fatal cardiac complications have been reported in cocaine users with narrowed coronary arteries caused by atherosclerosis as well as in young adults with normal coronaries. The authors have found that in normal dogs cocaine induces severe temporary hypoperfusion of the left ventricle as indicated by a significantly lower 201Tl concentration compared to the baseline state. The most significant decrease in uptake occurred 5 min after injection and was more pronounced in the septal and apical segments. Following intravenous administration of cocaine, instead of gradual disappearance of 201Tl from the left ventricle, there was continuous increase in 201Tl concentration in the left ventricle. These imaging experiments indicate that the deleterious effects of cocaine on the heart are probably due to spasm of the coronaries and decreased myocardial perfusion. Since spasm of the large subpericardial vessels does not seem to explain the magnitude of the increased coronary resistance and decreased coronary flow after cocaine as described in the literature, it is suggested that microvascular spasm of smaller vessels plays a major role in the temporary decrease in perfusion. The data may also suggest that severe temporary myocardial ischemia is probably the initiating factor for the cardiac complications induced by cocaine.
- OSTI ID:
- 5228883
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Nuclear Medicine; (United States), Vol. 32:8; ISSN 0161-5505
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
COCAINE
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
HEART
IMAGE PROCESSING
ISCHEMIA
DIAGNOSIS
DOGS
THALLIUM 201
ALKALOIDS
ANEMIAS
ANESTHETICS
ANIMALS
ANTIDEPRESSANTS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEPRESSANTS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DISEASES
DRUGS
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
HEAVY NUCLEI
HEMIC DISEASES
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MAMMALS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
PROCESSING
PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
RADIOISOTOPES
SECONDS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
SYMPTOMS
THALLIUM ISOTOPES
VASCULAR DISEASES
VERTEBRATES
550601* - Medicine- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics