Substance abuse by itself is bad enough in that it can lead to addiction or arrest. But in some situations, drug abuse leads to sudden death. A study just released by the Institute of Legal Medicine in Seville, Spain, discovered a combination of factors that resulted in death for twenty-one drug abusers. These deaths weren’t caused by drug overdoses – it was the fatal combination of drugs that ended these lives.
The Spanish study set out to determine factors involved in sudden deaths in southwest Spain between 2003 and 2006. Through autopsies and toxicology reports, the study determined that in three percent of sudden deaths, a fatal combination of cocaine, alcohol and tobacco use caused sudden death. Among these cocaine-related deaths, 76 percent had also used alcohol at the time of death, and 81 percent were smokers.
It’s long been known that cocaine places stresses on one’s heart, a fact tragically brought to light when Len Bias, the promising young basketball star, died suddenly after using cocaine in 1986. These days, many substance abusers abuse multiple drugs at the same time. In the U.S., 72 percent of drug-related deaths are caused by poly-drug use.
In the Spanish study, 62 percent of the cocaine-related deaths were associated with cardiovascular (heart) problems. Another 14 percent were associated with cerebrovascular causes (blood vessels in the brain) like strokes or aneurysms.
The Spanish report emphasizes the importance of effective drug rehabilitation. Providing drug addiction treatment is how the Narconon® drug and alcohol rehabilitation program has saved lives for four decades. Although traditional drug treatment centers have success rates of 16 percent or less, Narconon rehab centers achieve a 70 percent success rate year after year. Around the world in 120 centers, Narconon drug rehabs help addicts return to stably drug-free and alcohol-free lives, thus preserving them from the damage found in this study.
In addition, Narconon centers and staffs provide drug prevention services for schools and community groups. If you would like more information on Narconon's drug education, prevention and rehabilitation programs, visit http://www.narconon.org/.
