Methamphetamine Use May Increase Heart Infection Risk, Emory University Study

Emory University -- The number of U.S. injection drug users hospitalized for infective endocarditis, or heart inflammation, increased substantially between the years 2000 and 2003, says a study reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The jump may be attributable to rising methamphetamine use, says study lead author Hannah Cooper, ScD, assistant professor of behavioral science and health education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Cooper used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Hospital Discharge Survey collected between 1996 and 2003.