Cocaine is the second commonest illicit drug used and the most frequent cause of drug related deaths. Its use is associated with both acute and chronic complications that may involve any system, the most common being the cardiovascular system. Cocaine misuse has a major effect in young adult drug users with resulting loss of productivity and undue morbidity with cocaine related cardiac and cere...

IMPORTANCE Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivors are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. It is unclear, however, how long the increased risk persists and what the risk factors are for various cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVES To examine relative and absolute excess risk up to 40 years since HL treatment compared with cardiovascular disease incidence in the general population and to stud...

Large artery damage is a major contributory factor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of patients with hypertension. Pulse wave velocity (PWV), a classic evaluation of arterial distensibility, has never been ascertained as a cardiovascular risk marker. To determine the factors influencing aortic PWV and the potential predictor role of this measurement, we studied a cohort of 710 patients...

OBJECTIVE To provide an evidence-based focused review of aspirin use in the perioperative period along with an in-depth discussion of the considerations and risks associated with its preoperative withdrawal. BACKGROUND For patients with established cardiovascular disease, taking aspirin is considered a critical therapy. The cessation of aspirin can cause a platelet rebound phenomenon and prot...

AIMS To compare the burden of cardiovascular disease in terms of lifetime risk and life years lived with disease between smokers and non-smokers. METHODS AND RESULTS We constructed multi-state life tables describing transitions through various cardiovascular diseases for 4723 smokers and non-smokers observed during 20 biannual observations in the Original Framingham Heart Study. Non-smokers l...