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Effects Of Illicit Drugs On Patients And Diseases Essay

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Epidemiology For the epidemiology of this patient we focused on the effects and causes that illicit drugs can have on patients and diseases, which in this case is some sort of myocardial infarction or compromise. Epidemiology is defined by the CDC as “a method used to find the causes of health outcomes and diseases in populations;” and also as “the study (scientific, systematic, data-driven) of the distribution (frequency, pattern) and determinants (causes, risk factors) of health-related states and events (not just diseases) in specified populations (neighborhood, school, city, state, country, global)” (Dicker, 2006). The cause of this patient’s cardiac issues most likely may be directly related to his drug use. Most illegal drugs can have adverse reactions on the cardiovascular system. One drug of significant interest and importance is that of cocaine, which is considered “the perfect heart attack drug” by the American Heart Association (AHA, 2015). A study done by the AHA showed that young and healthy individuals that use cocaine and other illicit drugs recreationally are still at great risk of heart attack from higher blood pressure, thickened heart muscle, increased heart rate, and stiffer arteries (AHA, 2015). Many people also combine other drugs with cocaine such as amphetamines increasing the effects of the drugs (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2016). Cocaine is a very prevalent drug in American society and is not limited to one age group or demographic. It is

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