Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Illicit stimulants and ventricular arrhythmias: a longitudinal cohort study
- Longitudinal cohort study
Authors' conclusion
Methamphetamine use and cocaine use were each associated with increased risk of incident VA and mortality, with differential relationships by demographic groups.
Study context
- Population
- Adults ≥18 years receiving hospital-based care in California, 2005–2019
- Participants
- 29,593,819 adults
- Exposure
- Methamphetamine use and cocaine use vs no use
- Methamphetaminen = 690,737
- Cocainen = 290,652
- Outcome
- VA (VT, VF and cardiac arrest) and all-cause mortality
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Hazard ratio (95% CI)
Methamphetamineincident VA
1.90(1.85–1.95)
Cocaineincident VA
1.15(1.10–1.19)
Methamphetaminemortality
1.51(1.47–1.54)
Cocainemortality
1.68(1.64–1.72)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Ventricular arrhythmias (VA) risk by demographic subgroup
- VA risk higher in younger individuals (<65 years) and females for both methamphetamine and cocaine
- Cocaine: higher in Blacks, lower in Whites and Hispanics
- Methamphetamine: higher in Asians, lower in Blacks
- P for interaction < .05 in all
Original publication
Illicit stimulants and ventricular arrhythmias: a longitudinal cohort study. Eur Heart J. Published 7 May 2025. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf282
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it