ArticleEcho research and practice2026
Echocardiographic characteristics of new-onset methamphetamine-associated heart failure: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in Echo research and practice, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMethamphetamine-associated heart failure (MAHF) is a growing cause of healthcare burden, yet the echocardiographic phenotype at the time of initial diagnosis is poorly characterized. We tested the hypothesis that new-onset MAHF exhibits a distinct echocardiographic phenotype that could aid in early disease identification.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing echocardiographic parameters in patients with new-onset MAHF versus controls with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy unrelated to methamphetamine use. Patients with MAHF (n = 75) were identified by positive urine drug screen, ICD-10 codes for incident heart failure, and confirmed active methamphetamine use at index hospitalization. Controls were matched 1:1 by age, sex, and race. Pre-specified echocardiographic endpoints included left and right ventricular size and function, left ventricular thrombi, valvular dysfunction, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure.
resultsThe two groups showed no significant differences in echocardiographic parameters. Left ventricular ejection fraction (28%, 20-36% vs. 25%, 19-35%), left ventricular indexed end-diastolic volume (103 ml/m2, 79-130 ml/m2 vs. 94 ml/m2, 73-118 ml/m2), left atrial size, right ventricular size and function, diastolic parameters, pulmonary artery pressures, and prevalence of ventricular thrombi were all similar between groups.
conclusionsAt the time of initial heart failure diagnosis, MAHF is indistinguishable by traditional echocardiographic parameters from other non-ischemic cardiomyopathies. The findings of this study differ from prior research into the echocardiographic phenotype of MAHF by focusing on the time of initial heart failure diagnosis, presumably when less adverse remodeling has occurred. These negative findings underscore that MAHF is a diagnosis of exclusion and a full work-up to assess for alternative etiologies of cardiomyopathy is paramount.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.