LEFT-VENTRICULAR MORPHOLOGIC FEATURES AND FUNCTION IN NONHOSPITALIZEDCOCAINE USERS - A QUANTITATIVE 2-DIMENSIONAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC STUDY

To determine whether left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy or dysfunction is present in nonhospitalized cocaine users, we performed quantitative two-dimensional echocardiography in 20 intravenous cocaine users and 20 age- and sex-matched controls. Cocaine users were normotensive, had begun taking cocaine an average of 14 years earlier, and had used coc aine an average of 8 times/mo during the preceding year. There were no significant differences between cocaine users and control subjects fo r LV mass index (79 vs 74 gm/m(2), respectively), mean wall thickness (0.95 vs 0.91 cm), end-diastolic volume index (55 vs 56 ml/m(2)), end- systolic volume index (17 vs 19 ml/m(2)), or ejection fraction (70 vs 66%; p greater than or equal to 0.09 for all comparisons). Moreover, n one of the cocaine users or control subjects had significant regional wall motion abnormalities, and none of the subjects or controls had ej ection fractions <55%. Thus we found little evidence that significant LV hypertrophy or dysfunction is present in nonhospitalized cocaine us ers. From these results we speculate that cocaine-associated LV hypert rophy and dysfunction may be restricted to certain high-risk groups of chronic cocaine users.