Rising Heart Failure Risk from Stimulant Use

In this CardioNerds episode, Drs. Soraya Azari and Jonathan Davis, alongside CardioNerds hosts, explore stimulant-associated cardiomyopathy (SA‑CMP), detailing how long-term use of methamphetamine and other stimulants damages the heart through catecholamine toxicity, oxidative stress, and microvascular dysfunction. The group members discuss typical echocardiography findings such as dilated biventricular cardiomyopathy and right-sided heart failure. They also remind clinicians to investigate alternative causes and emphasize best practices in substance-use history-taking.