Washington: A new study has found that cocaine users are six times more likely to have a stroke every time they take the drug.
The University of Maryland scientists analysed a population-based case-control study design with 1090 cases and 1154 controls, including those in their 30s and 40s, and found that cocaine use in the 24 hours before the event raised the risk substantially.
Researchers also found that ever use of cocaine was not associated with stroke with 28 percent of cases and 26 percent of controls reporting ever use.
Moreover, when the drug was smoked in a crack form, the stroke risk increased eight-fold.
The team concluded, “Our data are consistent with a causal association between acute cocaine use and risk of early-onset ischemic stroke (IS).”
The study appears in the journal Stroke. (ANI)