Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Aug 13: In view of ever increasing use of illicit drugs in society and younger generation being vulnerable to it very easily Head Department of Cardiology GMCH Jammu Dr Sushil Sharma held a day long cardiac awareness cum health check up camp at Shri Hanuman Temple area of Digiana, Jammu to educate the people about the various cardiovascular diseases caused due to substance abuse and ways to overcome them so as to pave way for healthy heart lifestyle for present and coming generations.
While interacting with the people, Dr Sushil Stated that the global burden of cardiovascular disorders (CVDs) has soared over the last few years. This increase is being attributed to lifestyle, food habits, and an increase in substance use disorders (SUDs), the most common being alcohol, tobacco smoking, e-cigarettes, stimulants, marijuana, steroids, and opioids. SUD is currently being regarded as major healthcare and social issue. There is limited knowledge about the mechanism of how different substances impact cardiovascular health. However, few studies implicate multi factorial pathogenesis. Stimulants are associated with decreased catecholamine reuptake, thus causing sympathetic overdrive with increased myocardial oxygen demand and marked vasospasm along with abnormal platelet aggregation resulting in acute arterial hypertension, thrombosis, and accelerated atherosclerosis,” he added.
Dr Sharma elaborated that in the past decade, increased trends have been observed in the consumption of marijuana and methamphetamine, thus leading to increased mortality and morbidity among these substance users. Incidentally, a slight decrease in the use of cocaine was noted in the young patient population. Complications of SUDs are preventable and reversible. Among all illicit drugs, the use of amphetamines and cannabis were found to have the greatest odds of early-onset ASCVD. Abusing opioids, such as prescription pain medications or heroin, can cause cardiovascular disease. The most common cardiovascular issues related to opioid use are arrhythmias and stroke. In addition, people who inject opioids are at increased risk for developing endocarditis, a dangerous bacterial infection of the heart. More than one episode of endocarditis increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Others who were part of Camp includes, Dr Nasir Ali Choudhary, Dr Dhaneshwer kapoor, Dr Irfan Ahmed and Dr Sahil Sayed. Paramedics and volunteers include Raghav Rajput, Mukesh Kumar, Rajinder Singh, Faisal Rashid, Moosa Mushtaq, Jatin Bhasin, Maninder Singh, Akshay Singh, Ranjeet Singh, Sunny Sharma, Arun Singh, Jamshed Ali, Gourav Sharma, Nitish Mahajan, Vinay Kumar, Nirvair Singh Bali, Vikas Kumar and Amandeep Singh.
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