Opioid Use and Its Relationship to Cardiovascular Disease and Brain Health: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association

The misuse of opioids continues to be epidemic, resulting in dependency and a recent upsurge in drug overdoses that have contributed to a significant decrease in life expectancy in the United States. Moreover, recent data suggest that commonly used opioids for the management of pain may produce undesirable pharmacological actions and interfere with critical medications commonly used in cardiovascular disease and stroke; however, the impact on outcomes remains controversial. The American Heart Association developed an advisory statement for health care professionals and researchers in the setting of cardiovascular and brain health to synthesize the current literature, to provide approaches for identifying patients with opioid use disorder, and to address pain management and overdose. A literature and internet search spanning from…