FASEB J. Pierce now sold as Thermo Scientific
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Billman, G. E.
Right arrow Articles by Hoskins, R. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Billman, G. E.
Right arrow Articles by Hoskins, R. S.

The FASEB Journal, Vol 2, 2990-2995, Copyright © 1988 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Cocaine-induced ventricular fibrillation: protection afforded by the calcium antagonist verapamil

GE Billman and RS Hoskins
Department of Physiology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210.

There is increasing evidence that the use of cocaine can trigger lethal cardiac events, including ventricular fibrillation. The mechanism responsible for these lethal cardiac arrhythmias remains to be determined. Therefore, 13 mongrel dogs were instrumented so that heart rate, left ventricular pressure (LVP), and d(LVP)/dt could be measured. After a 3- to 4-wk recovery period, the left circumflex coronary artery was occluded for 2 min, beginning with the last minute of an exercise stress test and continuing for 1 min after the cessation of exercise. None of the dogs developed cardiac arrhythmias during the control exercise plus ischemia test. On a subsequent day, the test was repeated after the injection of cocaine HCl (1.0 mg/kg). Cocaine significantly (P less than 0.01) elevated heart rate, systolic LVP, and d(LVP)/dt, and it elicited cardiac arrhythmias in 12 of the 13 animals during the exercise plus test. In fact, 11 animals developed ventricular fibrillation. Verapamil, a calcium channel antagonist (250 micrograms/kg), attenuated the hemodynamic effects of cocaine and prevented the development of ventricular arrhythmias. These data suggest that cocaine can induce ventricular fibrillation during myocardial ischemia and that these lethal arrhythmias may be prevented by a calcium channel antagonist.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 CirculationHome page
J. McCord, H. Jneid, J. E. Hollander, J. A. de Lemos, B. Cercek, P. Hsue, W. B. Gibler, E. M. Ohman, B. Drew, G. Philippides, et al.
Management of Cocaine-Associated Chest Pain and Myocardial Infarction: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association Acute Cardiac Care Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology
Circulation, April 8, 2008; 117(14): 1897 - 1907.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1988 by The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.