The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV, reports that doctors at Landspítali University Hospital are seeing an increase in the number patients suffering from cocaine induced medical conditions, such as chest pains and irregular heart beats.
According to RÚV there are no specific statistics available but doctors say that in the last 12 months there has been an increase in cocaine related cases treated at the hospital.
Karl Andersen, a specialist at the Cardiologist Department at Landspítali University Hospital, told RÚV that young people often get severe chest pains and blocked arteries soon after taking cocaine. Karl said that there seems to be a common misunderstanding that cocaine is harmless but the cases admitted demonstrate otherwise. According to Karl the cocaine users are people “in the fast lane in business and culture”.
