Stanford docs find meth linked to 1 in 6 heart attacks at hospital

Crystal meth was linked to one in six heart attacks treated at a hospital in California.

Use of the highly addictive drug accounted for nearly 15% of heart attacks handled at the hospital over a decade, scientists say.

Meth users who suffered a heart attack were often younger adults or males, according to the 10-year study.

Researchers found their heart attacks were less likely to be caused by traditional risk factors - such as high cholesterol, obesity or Type 2 diabetes - compared to other heart attack patients.

Study author Dr. Susan Zhao said: "Even though meth users were generally younger and didn't have typical cardiovascular disease-related conditions like high cholesterol,

"Type 2 diabetes or obesity, they were twice as likely to die after a heart attack when compared to non-users.

"People who use meth need to be aware of the serious health risks associated with it, and medical professionals should closely monitor heart attacks in patients who appear healthy and lack typical risk factors, such as Type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol."

Methamphetamine - also known as meth, ice, crystal or crank - is an addictive illegal synthetic central nervous system stimulant.

It has seen a dramatic increase in use in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years.

The new study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, is the largest analysis on acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and methamphetamine use to date.

Researchers reviewed the medical records of more than 1,300 heart attack patients, ages 18 to 65, treated at Santa Clara Valley Health Care Hospital in Northern California.

Meth use was determined by reviewing electronic records for substance abuse reported by patients and results from urine tests.

The analysis also found people who used meth and had a heart attack were younger, with a median age of 52, and were more likely to be male compared to those who had a heart attack but did not use meth, average age 57.

Adults who used meth were readmitted to the hospital for repeat heart attacks (42.3%) more often and had a higher risk of death from any cause (22.2%) than people who didn't use meth (14.4%).

Only 59.3% of meth users were likely to have procedures to open clogged arteries or to be sent home with standard heart medications, in part because their heart attacks didn't involve blocked arteries, compared to 75% of non-meth users.

Zhao, staff cardiologist and medical director of the Coronary Care Unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, California, said: "As meth use rises on the West Coast of the U.S. and this trend moves eastward, heart attacks associated with meth use will increasingly occur in areas beyond California.

"We want to raise awareness that acute coronary syndrome and meth use affect different groups of people, such as young to middle-aged men without traditional risk factors.

"These groups have different risk factors and health issues, and they also can have a higher chance of dying from them."

Zhao, who is also an associate clinical professor of medicine at Stanford School of Medicine, added: "These findings show that we need specific prevention and treatment plans for meth users - a vulnerable and high-risk group.

"New plans should also focus on helping people stop using meth."

Robert Page, of the American Heart Association, said of the findings: "As with cannabis, methamphetamine is becoming a major risk factor for developing premature heart disease in young adults, which can lead to serious cardiovascular events.

"It is important to understand that methamphetamine can harm the heart by causing issues like damaged blood vessels and increased aging of the vascular system.

"People who have used methamphetamine are diagnosed with heart disease about eight years earlier than those who haven't used it.

"Research shows that men are more likely to have heart attacks related to methamphetamine, and women may also be more vulnerable to heart disease from using stimulants compared to women who don't use them."

Page added: "These findings highlight the need for health care professionals to discuss these serious risks with their patients to emphasize the potential harms of stimulant abuse."

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 11:49 AM.