METH USE DAMAGES HEART, UH SHOWS

The Study Of Patients At Queen's Confirms What Doctors Knew Of The
Dangers Of "Ice"

A study of 221 patients at the Queen's Medical Center confirmed what
doctors here have long known: Methamphetamine use causes heart trouble.

The risk of cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, was nearly
four times higher in methamphetamine, or "ice," users than in
nonusers, researchers reported in this month's American Journal of Medicine.

"The problem was, for 10 to 15 years everybody knew methamphetamine
caused heart failure," said Dr. Irwin Schatz, professor of medicine
and cardiologist in the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Doctors saw such patients all the time but were told at science
meetings that the cases were only anecdotal, he said.

Dr. Khung-Keong Yeo of the University of California-Davis Medical
Center in Sacramento said a controlled study was needed, and he and
his colleagues conducted it with the UH medical school, Schatz said.

Schatz and Dr. Todd Seto, associate professor of medicine, led the
JABSOM team. They reviewed charts of 221 patients age 45 and younger
who were hospitalized at Queen's between January 2001 and June 2004.

Of the total, 107, or 48 percent, were discharged with a diagnosis of
cardiomyopathy. They were compared with 114 patients of similar ages
who were discharged without evidence of heart problems.

Both groups had other medical problems, such as diabetes and
hypertension, and included patients who were smokers and used
alcohol, marijuana and cocaine.

Forty percent of the 107 patients with cardiomyopathy used methamphetamine.

"The meth users had 3.7 times increased incidence of cardiomyopathy
than the control group," Schatz said.

The heart muscle of ice users becomes diseased and begins to lose
function, Schatz said: "The heart loses the ability to contract."
Many meth users were operating at 30 to 50 percent efficiency, he said.

The most common cause of cardiomyopathy in the past was alcohol,
Schatz said. "Now, it's clear that the greatest percentage of people
entering the hospital with cardiomyopathy have it because of ice use,
and it's a relatively common problem."

"It's another reason to persuade their youngsters from trying ice. It
really is devastating to see these folks coming in and out (of the
hospital) all the time," Schatz said.

"This is prevalent, I'm sure, all over the country where crystal meth
is used," he added. "There is no reason to believe it is unique in Hawaii."

Queen's was selected by Yeo for the study because of a large
concentration of patients, Schatz said. Many uninsured patients end
up there, he said, "and we were seeing a majority of these patients."

The study is significant because for the first time "it establishes
from a scientific point of view that crystal meth can really affect
the heart for many of these young users," Schatz said. "It is tragic
because many of them won't stop even after they enter the hospital
and are discharged. They go back to using again. It's really sad."

Other co-authors of the study at the UH medical school were Dr.
Hiroki Ito, Dr. Kevin Tay, Jimmy Efird, Kavitha Alimineti and Chieko
Kimata. Dr. Mevan Wijetunga of Washington, D.C., also was a co-author.

[Sidebar]

'Ice' And Heart Disease Study Findings

Of 221 patients age 45 or younger who were hospitalized at the
Queen's Medical Center between January 2001 and June 2004:

107, or 48 percent, had cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle.

40 percent of the 107 patients with cardiomyopathy used
methamphetamine. Meth users had 3.7 times the increased incidence of
cardiomyopathy than the control group.

The patients with cardiomyopathy included 70 men and 37 women. Twelve
were under age 30; 50, between 30 to 40; and 45, between 40 and 45.

21 percent of the patients diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in the study
were Caucasian; 29 percent, Asian; and 46 percent, Pacific Islanders.