The opioid epidemic has become impossible to ignore as it continues to spread throughout our communities. If you’re struggling with opioid abuse like many others, you probably didn’t intend for it to escalate. Often, it’s the stress of life or pain from an injury that becomes overwhelming
While opioids may offer fast-acting relief, they come with a cost. Among its many detriments to your physical health, opioid abuse can damage your heart. In this blog, we’ll review how opioids affect your heart health. Wondering about opioid and pain killer side effects? Keep reading.
Can Opioids Cause Heart Problems? Yes.
Since its inception, opioids have played a significant role in modern medicine for managing pain. Opioids work by attaching themselves to receptors in the brain and spinal cord to reduce the intensity of pain signals.
While alleviating in the moment, these drugs slow down your central nervous system and put a great deal of stress on your heart. This increases your risk for severe heart complications, including:
- Atrial fibrillation (fast and irregular heart rhythms): Opioids can interfere with the electrical signals your brain sends to your heart. This disruption can create an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, coronary heart disease and blood clots. If a permanent heart rhythm abnormality occurs, you may struggle to do normal activities, like exercise.
- Heart infections: If you inject opioids like heroin into your body, you’re at a greater chance of developing heart infections. The bacteria and other particulates in the drug can block the blood vessels leading to your heart, stressing the heart muscle and leading to life-threatening impediments.
- Vasodilation (dilated blood vessels): Opioid abuse can widen your blood vessels. Wider blood vessels cause low blood pressure, which can lead to permanent damage to your heart and brain.
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Heart Complications from Opioid Withdrawal
If you’re dependent on opioids, you’re likely to experience heart issues during withdrawal. It’s one of the main reasons why you should seek professional detox services. Medical professionals can monitor your health and help you manage withdrawal symptoms safely to avoid heart problems, such as:
- Increased heart rate
- Heart palpitations
- Elevated blood pressure
Detox services provide support and medical supervision, which can help prevent relapse and life-threatening overdoses. Feeling like your heart is racing can trigger stress and anxiety, tempting you to use opioids again to feel better. Detox management from an addiction treatment center like Fountain Hills Recovery can help you get through withdrawal without relapsing and putting your health and life at continued risk.
Exploring Further: Additional Questions and Answers
How Do Opioids Affect the Heart in People With Chronic Pain?
When you use opioids like hydrocodone or oxycodone for a long time, it can harm your heart, especially if you have chronic pain. These drugs might cause atrial fibrillation, which is a fast and irregular heartbeat that increases your risk of stroke and heart attack. Opioids can also slow your heart rate, making it difficult to stay active. Over time, this can lead to serious heart issues like heart failure and irregular heartbeats.
How Does Chronic Opioid Use Affect Breathing, Sleep, and Heart Health?
If you use opioids chronically, they can disrupt your breathing and cause sleep problems like sleep apnea. This reduces the oxygen supply to your heart, worsening its health and possibly causing arrhythmias or heart failure. Opioids like morphine, codeine, and fentanyl can also lower your blood pressure, leading to fainting and putting more strain on your heart. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) drugs like Suboxone can help people with opioid use disorder without harming the heart.
What Other Specific Heart Conditions Can Arise from Opioid Addiction and Misuse?
When you misuse opioids, it can cause several dangerous heart conditions, including arrhythmias, low blood pressure, heart failure, cardiac arrest, and infections like endocarditis. These conditions can increase the risk of death. For example, opioid-induced arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation can lead to strokes, heart failure, and other serious heart problems. Understanding the connection between opioids and heart health is essential to managing these risks.
Can Abruptly Stopping Opioids Pose Risks to the Heart?
Stopping opioids suddenly can sometimes pose risks to your heart, although this is rare. One possible condition is “broken heart syndrome” or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, which can occur after stopping opioids and might lead to heart failure. This syndrome involves the weakening of your heart’s main pumping chamber and can mimic a heart attack. It’s important to seek help from a specialist in opioid addiction treatment when trying to quit to reduce these risks.
Recover from Opioid Addiction at Fountain Hills Recovery
Fountain Hills Recovery is the top-rated luxury addiction and mental health treatment center in Arizona. It’s our goal to provide you with cutting-edge and compassionate addiction care that can help you achieve lasting recovery.
Our expert team can help you uncover the underlying causes behind your opioid addiction through individual therapy, group therapy and other experiential activities. Once you understand your addiction, you’ll learn healthy coping skills and relapse prevention techniques to maintain your sobriety.
If you’re ready to reclaim your life from opioid addiction[MD1] , we’re here to support you. Contact our admissions team today to find out how to get started.
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