Cocaine is a powerful stimulant that has often been glamorized in television and movies for being an energy-enhancing party drug. However, the drug carries significant risks for your health, especially for your heart. Understanding the effects of cocaine on the heart and the other dangers associated with cocaine abuse can help you decide whether you may need to seek help for cocaine addiction to minimize further risk.
If you are concerned about how cocaine is impacting your health, it is time to take the next step and enroll in cocaine addiction treatment. Promises Right Step offers comprehensive treatment programs customized to your needs. Call us today at 17135283709 to learn more about healing from cocaine addiction at our Texas treatment centers.
Cocaine Effects on the Heart
It is well known that cocaine can have devastating effects on the heart. In the short term, the drug dramatically elevates the heart rate and blood pressure. It can also lead to heart attacks, even in overall healthy people.
Chronic use of cocaine can threaten heart health with:
- Damage to the heart muscle
- Increased risk of atherosclerosis
- Arrhythmia or disruption of normal heart rhythm
- Sudden cardiac death
As a potent stimulant, cocaine can put an excessive burden on your heart and lead to long-term heart problems or even death. If you are having trouble discontinuing cocaine use, it is vital that you reach out for professional help right away to protect your health.
Other Dangers of Cocaine Abuse
While the impact of cocaine on the heart is severe, the dangers of cocaine abuse are not limited to cardiac health. Cocaine abuse can result in a broad range of mental and physical health issues, such as:
- Increased risk of stroke
- Increased risk of seizures
- Respiratory issues
- Drastic weight loss
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Paranoia
- Hallucinations
In addition to health concerns, long-term cocaine abuse can also harm your work and social life. Dependence on this potent drug can deteriorate relationships, threaten your employment, and wreak havoc on your overall quality of life.
Getting Help for Cocaine Abuse
To overcome cocaine addiction, it is crucial that you seek professional help from a cocaine addiction treatment center. They can provide you with the right tools and resources for addiction recovery, including these two core components:
Medication
Although there are no FDA-approved medications for cocaine addiction treatment like there are for opioids and alcohol, certain medications have shown some promise for helping aid recovery from cocaine abuse.
Long-acting amphetamines prescribed for ADHD or narcolepsy may be helpful to substitute the stimulating effects of cocaine with a lower risk of health complications. Antidepressants like bupropion can also be beneficial, as those with cocaine addiction have a much greater risk of depression. And topiramate, an anticonvulsant medication that is sometimes used for alcohol addiction recovery, might help to minimize cocaine cravings.
Therapy
Getting over cocaine addiction is about more than the physical effects of withdrawal on your body. For most people, there is also a psychological component that led them to use the drug in the first place. For true healing to occur, you must address these underlying contributors to cocaine abuse.
A cocaine addiction treatment program may offer cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), contingency management, or motivational enhancement therapy to help you work through challenges and triggers that can derail your recovery.
Call Promises Right Step to Enroll in Cocaine Addiction Treatment
The impact of cocaine abuse on the heart is especially concerning. To reduce the risk of cocaine-induced heart damage, enroll in cocaine addiction treatment at Promises Right Step. Our whole-person approach to addiction treatment will provide you with an individualized combination of therapies and medications to get you on the road to recovery. Call us today at 17135283709 to schedule an intake assessment.
