This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Ecstasy and heart disease

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly referred to as Ecstasy, is a widely abused, psychoactive recreational drug
  • MDMAs neurotoxic to serotonergic neurons in vivo, and induces programmed cell death in cultured human serotonergic cells and rat neocortical neurons
  • effects of MDMA on the cardiovascular system include:
    • tachycardia and hypertension
    • sudden onset cardiac arrhythmia including atrial fibrillation
    • strokes have been implicated as due to ecstasy use
    • to date there is no evidence that regular ecstasy use leads to coronary artery disease or atheroma in the peripheral circulation

Reference:

  1. British Heart Foundation (Factfile 6/2003). Illicit Drugs And The Heart.

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.