Recreational substance use among patients with premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease

Analysis found patients with premature atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD) had higher use of tobacco (62.9% vs 40.6%), alcohol (31.8% vs 14.8%), cocaine (12.9% vs 2.5%), amphetamine (2.9% vs 0.5%) & cannabis (12.5%vs2.7%) vs patients with non-premature ASCVD (p<0.01 for all comparisons).

SPS commentary:

The authors of a related editorial discuss substance misuse and premature CVD and the results of this study/its implications for ASCVD research and treatment. The authors state that while this study supports the association between substance use disorder and early-onset ASCVD, the effect of substance use frequency, dose and duration cannot be reliably ascertained in this patient sample. Prospective studies are needed to further understand this.

Heart

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