Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Use

What Are the Long-Term Effects of Cocaine?

Cocaine use can cause widespread effects on the brain, heart, and organ systems. In the next few sections, we’ll review how long-term cocaine use affects each of these vital parts of your body.

Long-Term Side Effects of Cocaine on the Heart

Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant that causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, as well as a narrowing of the blood vessels throughout the body (vasoconstriction).[1]

With chronic use, cocaine can damage the cardiovascular system, leading to chronic high blood pressure (hypertension), an irregular heart rate (arrhythmia), or chest pain from the tightening of the blood vessels (angina).[2]

Cocaine use can also cause blood clots leading to a heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or pulmonary embolism – all of which can be fatal.[3]

Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Use on the Respiratory System

Snorting is a common method of use for cocaine. Over time, snorting cocaine can cause mucous membrane damage in the sinus cavities, throat, and upper respiratory system.[4] Cocaine constricts the blood vessels in the nasal lining, leading to death of the tissue, sores in the lining and septum, loss of supporting cartilage, scarring, and eventually, collapse of the nose, known as “cocaine nose.”[5]

As awful as this sounds, smoking crack cocaine produces more devastating respiratory effects. Smoking cocaine exposes the lungs directly to the drug and the other combustion materials, increasing the risk of complications like pulmonary hypertension, burning in the throat, emphysema, inflammation of the lungs (pneumonitis), chronic cough, respiratory distress, and an increased risk of infections like tuberculosis and pneumonia.[6]

Smoking crack cocaine is associated with eosinophilic pneumonitis, or “crack lung,” a condition that includes symptoms like:

• Pain
• Black sputum
• Cough
• Wheezing
• Increased white blood cells
• Elevated body temperature[7]

Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Use on the Brain

Long-term use of cocaine has a profound impact on the brain, including an increased risk for strokes and seizures. Years of cocaine use can increase the risk of bleeding in the brain or movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease.[8]

Along with the physical effects, cocaine impairs cognitive functions and mood. People who abuse cocaine over the long term may have impairments in memory, decision-making, motor function, attention span, and impulse inhibition.[9]

With cocaine binges, which is when cocaine is used repeatedly and at increasingly higher doses, people experience more irritability, restlessness, paranoia, panic attacks, and possible psychosis with hallucinations. As cocaine use increases, the risk of adverse psychological effects increases.

Long-Term Effects of Cocaine Use on Other Organ Systems

The long-term effects of cocaine on the cardiovascular system and reduced blood flow have wide-reaching effects on the rest of the body. Several organ systems, including the stomach and intestines, can be indirectly damaged over time.

The short-term effects of cocaine abuse may include reduced appetite, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and constipation. With chronic use, these effects can become more persistent and potentially lead to long-term gastrointestinal issues.

People who use cocaine are more likely to experience ulcers and develop conditions like ischemic colitis, which happens when blood flow is reduced to part of the large intestine. Without treatment, ischemic colitis can cause tissue damage or tissue death.[10]

The kidneys receive 20% to 25% of cardiac output to function properly.[11] Because cocaine restricts blood flow, chronic cocaine use can damage the kidneys.[12] Cocaine use can also cause muscle injury, including rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of the muscle tissue.[13] With this condition, damaged muscles release proteins and electrolytes into the blood, damaging the heart and kidneys.

Cocaine Addiction

One of the greatest risks of cocaine is that it’s highly addictive. The intense high that cocaine produces is short-lived, only lasting between five and 30 minutes, depending on the method of use. This causes people to take more and more cocaine to sustain their high, leading to tolerance and dependence. Eventually, addiction occurs.

Though cocaine is a highly abused drug and a difficult addiction to overcome, substance abuse treatment can be effective for yourself or a loved one.

If you tried to cut back or quit cocaine use and experienced extreme withdrawal that caused you to relapse, medical detox can help manage your symptoms while the drug clears your system. While there aren’t medications specific to cocaine use, they can be used to alleviate withdrawal symptoms like insomnia.

Every treatment is individualized, ensuring you get the ideal combination of therapies for your needs. If you need intensive treatment, inpatient or residential programs are ideal and provide 24/7 staff support. If you need to manage your day-to-day responsibilities without putting your treatment on hold, outpatient programs offer flexibility that works with your schedule.

With both inpatient and outpatient, the therapies are often a combination of traditional therapies like individual counseling and peer groups with behavioral therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).[14] This therapy focuses on the problematic thoughts and behavioral patterns that contribute to substance abuse, replacing them with healthier options.