What are cocaine’s physical effects?
Cocaine use can cause dilated pupils, nausea, headaches, sweating, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, insomnia, loss of appetite, and seizures. Cocaine speeds up the heart by stimulating the same nerves that cause fear, thereby causing the heart to beat erratically or stop. Cocaine also shrinks the peripheral blood vessels and places extra pressure on the heart and circulatory system. These effects can lead to heart attacks, strokes, brain seizures, cardiac arrest, and respiratory failure in otherwise healthy people. New and chronic users can die suddenly. In Texas, 300-400 cocaine overdose deaths due to cocaine use have been reported each year. What are cocaine’s long-term effects? Chronic use of cocaine can cause heart problems, permanent liver damage, nutritional deficiencies, and long-term changes in the brain, triggering intense craving for cocaine. In addition, research has shown that long-term cocaine use can compromise the immune system. Other effects are related to
