Dilated Myocardiopathy Due to Cocaine Abuse

pp 729-734

Abstract

Dilated myocardiopathy is frequently seen in cocaine addicts. The anatomopathological lesions are characteristic, and the relevance of the reported case lies in the presence of most of the features distinctive of this illness. The response to dobutamine in the echo-stress test, the segmentary alteration of myocardial perfusion with angiographycally normal coronary arteries, the loss of the sarcomeric structure coupled with deep mytochondrial alterations, and the interstitial fibrosis without lymphocyte infiltration where the most outstanding findings and reveal the chronic character of cocaine induced myocardiopathy