Opioid Epidemic Linked to Greater Number of Heart Infections in the US

Preliminary research by the American Heart Association suggests the opioid epidemic in the United States may have led to an increase in the number of strokes due to bacterial infections of the heart (infective endocarditis). The occurrence of endocarditis from intravenous (IV) drug use has increased dramatically over the 4 years the study was conducted, showing that patients with endocarditis due to IV drug use were almost twice as likely to suffer a stroke as those with endocarditis from other causes.