Heat shock protein expression in cardiac tissue in amphetamine-related deaths

Both amphetamines and cocaine promote perivascular and interstitial fibrosis and myocyte hypertrophy, but acute myocardial infarction is much more common in cocaine abusers than in amphetamine-class fatalities. As a hypothesis was speculated that amphetamine-induced hyperthermia may promote the expression of heat shock proteins, which may in turn increase myocardial resistance to infarction. We examined the expression of heat shock proteins 27, 60, and 70 in a random sample of 19 amphetamine-class fatalities with different causes of death using immunohistochemistry. Five cases demonstrated strong heat shock protein-positive reactions in myocytes. This result may support the hypothesis of Karch. The lack of a positive reaction in the remaining cases may be accounted for by the different causes of death and agonal events.