{"id":14893,"date":"2019-10-16T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/?p=14893"},"modified":"2019-10-16T02:37:52","modified_gmt":"2019-10-16T07:37:52","slug":"american-heart-association-reports-alarming-number-of-heart-infections-tied-to-opioid-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paristn.net\/articles\/2019\/10\/16\/american-heart-association-reports-alarming-number-of-heart-infections-tied-to-opioid-epidemic\/","title":{"rendered":"American Heart Association reports Alarming number of Heart Infections tied to Opioid Epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanDallas, TX<\/strong> – According to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association<\/a>, the open access journal of the American Heart Association, an alarming number of people nationwide are developing infections of either the heart\u2019s inner lining or valves, known as infective endocarditis<\/a>, in large part, due to the current opioid epidemic.<\/p>\n

\"As<\/a>

As the nationwide opioid epidemic continues, more young people are developing a life-threatening heart infection that can result from drug abuse. (American Heart Association)<\/p><\/div>\n

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This new trend predominantly affects young, white, poor men who also have higher rates of HIV, hepatitis C and alcohol abuse.<\/p>\n

Infective endocarditis occurs when bacteria or fungi in the blood stream enter the heart\u2019s inner lining or valves. Nearly 34,000 people receive treatment for this condition each year, of which approximately 20% die. One of the major risk factors for infective endocarditis is drug abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cInfective endocarditis related to drug abuse is a nationwide epidemic,\u201d said the study\u2019s senior author Serge C. Harb, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. \u201cThese patients are among the most vulnerable\u2014young and poor, and also frequently have HIV, hepatitis C and alcohol abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers analyzed data in the National Inpatient Sample registry from 2002\u20132016 on nearly one million hospitalized patients diagnosed with infective endocarditis to compare patients with heart infections related to drug abuse to those with heart infections from other causes. The registry is the largest publicly available database of U.S. hospitalizations.<\/p>\n

During the 14 years studied, researchers found that the prevalence ratio for drug-abuse-related heart infections nearly doubled in the United States, from 8% to 16%. All geographic regions saw increases, and the highest jump occurred in the Midwest at nearly 5% per year.<\/p>\n

They also found those with infective endocarditis related to drug abuse:<\/strong><\/p>\n