Research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual conference examined the association between intravenous drug use and hospital admissions for a previously uncommon heart infection, infective endocarditis.
Researchers tracked admissions for infective endocarditis at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus from 2012 to 2017.
They found that admissions for infective endocarditis doubled over the five-year period, and admissions related to intravenous drug use increased by 436 percent.
In 2012, the hospital saw 196 cases of infective endocarditis, 33 of which were related to drug use, but by 2017 the number of infective endocarditis cases rose to 395, with drug use accounting for 177.
Heroin was the drug most commonly cited in cases of drug-related infective endocarditis, and one of four patients with the infection died after being admitted.
The American College of Cardiology's 68th Annual Scientific Session will take place, March 16 to March 18, in New Orleans.