Opioids and Heart Disease: What You Need to Know

Opioid use has a significant impact on the heart and cardiovascular system, leading to serious health issues, including heart disease and congestive heart failure. Understanding the interaction between opioids and heart health can help prevent and manage these potentially life-threatening conditions.

This guide to opioids and heart disease explores the various ways opioids affect the heart, highlighting the short-term and long-term consequences of their use. By raising awareness, we can encourage safer pain management practices and help those fighting opioid addictions get appropriate treatment.

What Are Opioids?

Opioids are a type of drug that doctors often prescribe to treat pain. They work by binding to opioid receptors in the brain and other parts of the body, which reduces the sensation of pain. There are several types of opioids, including:

• Prescription opioids: Medications like oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and codeine are often prescribed for severe pain, such as after surgery or for chronic conditions.
• Synthetic opioids: Drugs like fentanyl, which is much stronger than other opioids, are sometimes used for severe pain but can be very dangerous if misused.
• Illegal opioids: Heroin is an illegal opioid that’s strongly addictive and dangerous.

While opioids can be effective for pain relief, they also have a high potential for misuse and addiction. This is because they not only reduce pain but also produce feelings of euphoria, or intense happiness, which can lead people to misuse them.

How Opioids Interact With Your Cardiovascular System

Opioids can have varied effects on your cardiovascular system, which includes your heart and blood vessels. Here’s how they can interact:

• Heart rhythm: Opioids can affect the electrical activity of your heart, leading to arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats. This can be dangerous and increase the risk of stroke or heart failure.
• Blood pressure: Opioids can cause hypotension, or low blood pressure, which can make you feel dizzy or faint. In some cases, it can lead to shock.
• Heart rate: These drugs can slow your heart rate, which can be dangerous, especially if you take a high dose.
• Inflammation: Injecting opioids with dirty needles can introduce bacteria into your bloodstream, leading to infections like endocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart’s inner lining.

Opioids and Congestive Heart Failure: How Likely Is it?

CHF (congestive heart failure) happens when the heart can’t pump blood effectively. This condition can be worsened by opioid use in several ways:

• Fluid retention: Opioids can cause your body to retain fluids, increasing the burden on your heart and worsening heart failure.
• Increased risk of heart problems: Studies have shown that people who use opioids are more likely to develop heart problems, including heart failure.
• Co-occurring conditions: People who use opioids often have other health conditions that can increase the risk of heart failure, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
• Lifestyle factors: Opioid use can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and other behaviors that increase the risk of heart disease.

If you have heart problems, talk to your doctor about the risks of using opioids and explore alternative pain management options. These might include non-opioid medications, physical therapy, and other treatments that can help manage pain without the risks associated with opioids.

Opioid Addiction Facts

Opioid addiction, also known as opioid use disorder, is a medical condition characterized by the inability to stop using opioids despite the harmful consequences. Here are some key facts about opioid addiction:

• Prevalence: 8.9 million U.S. adults used prescription opioids in 2022. Among these, 5.8 million developed an opioid addiction in the same year. Additionally, 898,000 people were addicted to heroin in 2022. Although this number is much lower, just over 1 million people used the drug, meaning that almost all of them became addicted.
• Risk factors: Anyone can become addicted to opioids, but certain factors increase the risk. These include a history of substance abuse, mental health disorders, and prolonged use of opioids.
• Impact: Opioid addiction affects not just the individual but also their families, communities, and society as a whole. It can lead to job loss, financial problems, legal issues, and strained relationships.
• Treatment: Effective treatments for opioid addiction include medications (like methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone), counseling, and support groups. Recovery is possible with the right help and support.

Short-Term Effects of Opioids

When taken as prescribed, opioids can be safe and effective for managing pain. However, even short-term use can cause several side effects, including:

• Euphoria: Many people feel happy or high when they take opioids, which is why they can be addictive. 
• Drowsiness: Opioids can make you feel very sleepy. This drowsiness can interfere with your ability to perform daily activities, and it can be dangerous if you need to drive or operate machinery. Excessive drowsiness can also increase the risk of falls and injuries.
• Nausea and vomiting: Feeling sick to your stomach or throwing up is a common side effect of opioids. This can be uncomfortable and may require additional medication to manage.
• Constipation: Opioids can slow down your digestive system, leading to constipation. This is a very common side effect and can be quite severe, sometimes requiring laxatives or other treatments to relieve.
• Slowed breathing: Opioids can slow your breathing, which can be dangerous and even life-threatening in high doses. This is especially risky if opioids are taken in combination with other substances that depress the central nervous system – alcohol or benzodiazepines, for instance.
• Dizziness and lightheadedness: These effects can occur because opioids lower blood pressure. This can lead to a feeling of faintness, especially when standing up quickly.

Take opioids exactly as your doctor prescribes to minimize these risks. Misusing opioids, such as taking higher doses than prescribed or using someone else’s medication, greatly increases the likelihood of these adverse side effects.

Long-Term Effects of Opioids

Using opioids for a long time can lead to more serious health problems. These include:

• Tolerance: Over time, your body gets used to the drug, and you need more of it to feel the same effects. This can lead to taking higher and higher doses, which increases the risk of overdose and other serious side effects.
• Dependence: Your body becomes reliant on the drug to function normally. If you stop taking it, you may experience withdrawal symptoms like muscle pain, sweating, and anxiety. Dependence can make it very difficult to stop using opioids, even if you want to.
• Addiction: This is a chronic condition where you can’t stop using the drug despite the harm it causes. Addiction can lead to significant personal and social problems, including job loss, financial difficulties, and strained relationships. Addiction is also characterized by relapse.
• Organ damage: Long-term opioid use can damage vital organs, including the liver, kidneys, and brain. This damage can lead to serious health problems and may be irreversible in some cases.
• Hormonal imbalance: Opioids can affect the production of hormones, leading to issues like low testosterone in men and menstrual irregularities in women. This can cause a range of symptoms, including fatigue, depression, and sexual dysfunction.
• Immune system suppression: Chronic opioid use can weaken the immune system, making you more susceptible to infections and illnesses.
• Increased sensitivity to pain: Over time, opioids can actually make you more sensitive to pain, a condition known as opioid-induced hyperalgesia. This can make managing pain even more difficult and may lead to a cycle of increasing opioid use.

Opioids and Heart Disease | FAQs

How do opioids affect heart health?

Opioids can negatively impact heart health by causing irregular heartbeats and increasing the risk of cardiovascular problems due to their effects on the body’s overall function.

Can opioid use lead to high blood pressure?

Yes, long-term opioid use can contribute to high blood pressure, which can strain the heart and increase the risk of heart disease.

Are there specific heart conditions linked to opioid use?

Opioid use has been associated with conditions like arrhythmias and heart failure, primarily due to their impact on cardiovascular stability and overall health.

Does opioid use worsen existing heart disease?

Opioid use can exacerbate existing heart disease by potentially leading to complications such as worsened blood pressure control and heart rhythm issues.

Can opioid withdrawal affect heart health?

Opioid withdrawal can lead to increased heart rate and blood pressure, which may temporarily stress the cardiovascular system and exacerbate pre-existing heart conditions.

Save Your Heart and Break Free from Opioid Addiction at Renaissance Recovery

Whether you need help for a loved one with an addiction to opioids or you have been misusing this class of medication yourself, reach out to Renaissance Recovery for immediate assistance.

We treat all types of addictions, including opioid addictions, at our rehab centers in California and Florida. With our outpatient programs, you can carry on with your daily commitments while attending weekday therapy sessions at one of our beachside rehab facilities.

Every opioid addiction is different, so all Renaissance treatment plans are personalized, including therapies such as:

• Talk therapies (CBT and DBT)
• Motivational therapies
• MAT (medication-assisted treatment)
• Group therapy
• Counseling
• Family therapy
• Holistic therapy
• Aftercare

Call our recovery experts to begin treatment for opioid addiction at 866.330.9449.