Fatal acute congestive heart failure in a patient with idiopathic hemochromatosis and cocaine use.
Cardiovascular complications from cocaine use have been recognized in increasing frequency in recent years. We report the case of a young man with a history of intranasal cocaine use presenting with acute congestive heart failure who, on postmortem examination, was found to have idiopathic hemochromatosis. It is speculated that cocaine played a synergistic role in depressing myocardial function in a heart which had already been compromised by the diffuse iron deposition associated with hemochromatosis.
D000328:Adult; D003042:Cocaine; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology*; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications*
D003042:Cocaine