Sudden deaths increased due to cocaine consumption in Spain

A study done by the Institute of Legal Medicine of Seville revealed that “more than the 3% of sudden deaths in Spain are associated with the consumption of cocaine.”

And it demonstrates that “the use of the drug has become a problem in Spain and in the rest of Europe.”

The researchers warned about the lethal risk that comes from the simultaneously consumption of cocaine, alcohol and cigarettes.

Scientists investigated consecutive sudden deaths between 2003 and 2006. In post-mortem tests were analyzed blood and urine, focusing on the cardiovascular system and doing toxicological analysis.

In addition, information was gathered about the abuse of substances before their deaths and the consequences it had.

The research revealed that of the 668 sudden deaths that occurred in those years, 3.1% of them were associated with cocaine and occurred in men of 21 to 45 years old. Most of these drug-related deaths were due to heart problems.

Joaquin Lucena, leader of the Forensic Pathology Service of the Institute of Legal Medicine of Seville and head of the study, said that “Our findings show that cocaine produces harmful changes in the heart and arteries, which leads to a sudden death.

They also found that “the average levels of cocaine in blood or urine were 0.1 and 1.15 mg / L, with a range that varied widely, but always depending on a number of factors associated with the drug (consumption method, its metabolism and substances that were taken at the same time) and people (body mass index, chronic use or not, underlying diseases, age and sex).

The results also show that 81% of the men who died after cocaine also smoked and 76% had drunk alcohol.”