Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40331280›Full record

ArticleEuropean heart journal2025

Illicit stimulants and ventricular arrhythmias: a longitudinal cohort study.

Jean Jacques Noubiap, Thomas A Dewland, Gabrielle C Montenegro, Hannah H Oo, Zian H Tseng, Gregory M Marcus

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in European heart journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Predictors of clinically diagnosed premature ventricular complexes in acute care settings: a cohort study.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2026
    Article
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  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jean Jacques NoubiapDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7722-9757
Thomas A DewlandDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Gabrielle C MontenegroDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Hannah H OoDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Zian H TsengDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Gregory M MarcusDivision of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5197-7696

Funding

Applying Digital Health to the AF Ablation NCDR, Enabling Longitudinal Follow-upR01HL158825 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI MARCUS, GREGORY M · 2021 to 2025
$3.4M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL158825NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL158825-01NIH
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsVentricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation underlie many sudden cardiac deaths, but common lifestyle factors that predict their occurrence are poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the association between methamphetamine and cocaine, the most used illicit stimulants, and ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and mortality.

methodsHealthcare databases were used to identify adults aged ≥ 18 years receiving hospital-based care in California in 2005-2019. ICD codes were used to identify diagnoses and illicit stimulant use. Cox proportional hazard models adjusting for demographics and time-updated cardiovascular risk factors were employed. The outcomes were VA combining ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and cardiac arrest and all-cause mortality.

resultsAmong 29 593 819 individuals (53.8% female, mean age 44.9 years), 690 737 (2.3%) used methamphetamine, and 290 652 (1.0%) used cocaine at some point. After adjustment for age, sex, race and ethnicity, cannabis and opioid use, and other cardiovascular risk factors, methamphetamine use and cocaine use were each associated with increased risk of incident VA [hazard ratio (HR) 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.85-1.95, and HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.10-1.19, respectively], and mortality (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.47-1.54 and HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.64-1.72, respectively). The risk of VA was higher in younger individuals (<65 years) and females for both methamphetamine and cocaine, whereas it was higher in Blacks and lower in Whites and Hispanics for cocaine use, and higher in Asians and lower in Blacks for methamphetamine use (P for interaction < .05 in all).

conclusionsMethamphetamine use and cocaine use were each associated with increased risk of incident VA and mortality, with differential relationships by demographic groups. Avoiding these substances may reduce risk of VA and death.

Indexed as

Central Nervous System StimulantsCocaineCocaine-Related DisordersMethamphetamineTachycardia, VentricularVentricular FibrillationAdultAmphetamine-Related DisordersCaliforniaDeath, Sudden, CardiacFemaleHumansIncidenceLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedCentral Nervous System StimulantsCocaineMethamphetamineCardiac arrestCocaineDeathMethamphetamineVentricular fibrillationVentricular tachycardia

Identifiers

PMID40331280
PMCPMC12488323

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.