PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Michel Carrier
AU  - Geneviève Giraldeau
AU  - Marie-Claude Parent
AU  - Anique Ducharme
TI  - Association of recreational drug consumption, cardiac toxicity and heart transplantation
AID  - 10.1503/cjs.011018
DP  - 2019 Oct 01
TA  - Canadian Journal of Surgery
PG  - 356--357
VI  - 62
IP  - 5
4099  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/62/5/356.short
4100  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/62/5/356.full
SO  - CAN J SURG2019 Oct 01; 62
AB  - Cardiac toxicity from recreational drug use remains difficult to establish. We report the cases of 3 young patients who were hospitalized for cardiogenic shock. All were bridged to transplantation with implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). They underwent uneventful heart transplantation. The patients did not have any significant personal or family medical history, but all admitted consuming large quantities of recreational drugs daily. Histological examination of the native heart did not show any inflammation or infiltrative myocardial disease. In this series of young patients presenting in cardiogenic shock with minimal histologic findings on examination of the native hearts, the association between cardiac toxicity and active use of recreational drugs remains a strong possibility. The transplant community should be made aware of this possible association in the current era of legalization and social trivialization of drug consumption.