Panagiotis Iliakis: The Emerging Role of Recreational Drugs in Acute Coronary Syndrome
Panagiotis Iliakis, Interventional Cardiology and Research Fellow at Knappschaft Kliniken Universitätsklinikum Bochum, Fellow of European Society of Hypertension (FESH) at ESH, shared a post on LinkedIn about a recent article he and his colleagues co-authored, published in Medicina MDPI, adding:
“We are happy to share our latest article entitled ‘Acute Coronary Syndrome and Recreational Drug Use: A Comprehensive Review’, just published in Medicina MDPI.
- Recreational drug use is increasingly recognized as an important and frequently under-reported trigger of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), particularly among younger patients with few or no conventional cardiovascular risk factors.
- Cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines, methamphetamine, opioids, synthetic cannabinoids, and other substances may precipitate myocardial ischaemia through several mechanisms, including coronary vasospasm, sympathetic activation, endothelial dysfunction, enhanced platelet aggregation, thrombosis, accelerated atherosclerosis, and direct myocardial toxicity.
- Diagnosis and management remain challenging because patients may present with overlapping mechanisms of myocardial injury, uncertain substance exposure, and limited evidence supporting drug-specific therapeutic strategies. Greater clinical awareness and systematic assessment of recreational drug use are therefore essential in patients presenting with ACS.
Our review discusses the epidemiology, underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, therapeutic considerations, and current evidence gaps related to recreational drug-associated acute coronary syndromes.”
Title: Acute Coronary Syndrome and Recreational Drug Use: A Comprehensive Review
Authors: Panagiotis Iliakis, Konstantina Ntalekou, Eleftheria Stamou, Aikaterini-Eleftheria Karanikola, Andreas Mavroudis, Nikolaos Ktenopoulos, Paschalis Karakasis, Panagiotis Theofilis, Obayda Azizy, Anna Pitsillidi, Aikaterini Damianaki, Eirini Beneki, Alexandros Kasiakogias, Christina Chrysohoou, Polykarpos Christos Patsalis, Kyriakos Dimitriadis, Konstantinos Tsioufis
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