A Review of Cardiovascular Diseases in Substance Use Disorders: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives

Nowadays, the emergence of new types of substances and the growing prevalence of addiction have made substance use a global challenge for public health. At the same time, the complications of substance use are observed in various physical and psychological dimensions, including a range of acute and chronic cardiovascular diseases. This issue is significant, as many young people are affected by these complications. Therefore, understanding these complications is both important and practical.

Clinical articles related to the acute and chronic cardiovascular effects of the main groups of substances were searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases from 2015 to 2025.

Evidence of cardiovascular complications related to the use of major substance groups, including opioids, stimulants, nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, cannabinoids, tranquilizers, and anabolic steroids, has been obtained. Some of this evidence only indicates an increase in risk factors for the disease, while some reports also point to acute and chronic cardiac complications and even cardiorespiratory arrest and death.

Given the cardiac complications of substance use, cessation and treatment should be personalized to each patient's circumstances.