COCAINE-CLOTTING LINK NOTED

CHICAGO -- Cocaine use can promote blood clotting, which may explain
how the drug triggers heart attacks in its users, according to a new
study.

Cocaine caused blood to thicken by increasing the number of red blood
cells, and by triggering an increase in a protein that causes
platelets to stick together, said Dr. Arthur Siegel, the lead author
of the study, which appears in today's issue of the Archives of
Internal Medicine.