Application
The only group of humans who are chronically exposed to an opioid with delta activity are methadone maintained patients treated for heroin dependence and addiction. These patients have a coronary risk profile greater than the general population:
- 90% smoke. In the general population in the USA ~25% smoke.
- Heart Healthy living i.e. attention to lipid control is less frequent than in the general population
- ~25% of the patients in Methadone Maintenance Programs use the highly ischemogenic cocaine one or more times a year. In the general population in the USA less than 1% are reported to do so.
Preliminary and as yet unpublished surveys of the methadone treated population point to a high degree of protection from myocardial ischemic events. The one published study, an autopsy series from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York demonstrated significantly less evidence for coronary occlusive disease. Simulation of IPC with methadone could not be evaluated in this post mortem investigation.
Read more about this topic: Ischemic Preconditioning
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