History of illicit drug use in adults with acute myocardial infarction: Temporal trends from the French national hospital discharge database

Arch Cardiovasc Dis. 2023 Sep 29:S1875-2136(23)00174-2. doi: 10.1016/j.acvd.2023.09.002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Illicit drugs have become more available and diverse in recent decades. There is growing evidence that cannabis, cocaine and non-acute opioid use is associated with cardiovascular risk, including acute coronary events.

AIM: In this retrospective study, we aimed to identify and describe the history of illicit drug use in patients with acute myocardial infarction hospitalized between 2011 and 2022 in France.

METHODS: We collected data for all adult patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction in 1546 healthcare facilities from 01 January 2011 to 31 December 2022. A history of illicit drug use was identified through patient medical records. The rates of illicit drug use history in patients with acute myocardial infarction were analysed across four 3-year time periods in various age groups.

RESULTS: Over 12 years, 1,011,706 patients with acute myocardial infarction were identified. Illicit drug use was especially frequent in very young patients with acute myocardial infarction (aged 18-24 years) compared with older patients with acute myocardial infarction. In this very young acute myocardial infarction population there was a 161% increase in illicit drug use over 12 years (9.7 to 14.9%; P=0.0016). In addition, illicit drug use rates increased across all age groups of patients with acute myocardial infarction over time.

CONCLUSION: Although this observation is based on a retrospective study of an administrative database, it could contribute to a scientific rationale for implementing systematic toxicology screening for patients with acute myocardial infarction in France.

PMID:37833116 | DOI:10.1016/j.acvd.2023.09.002