CSC Cardiac Nursing Subspecialty

Answer: B - Cocaine increases the heart rate and the blood pressure; it is a sympathomimetic. . Cocaine can also cause chest pain that may mimic a myocardial infarction. Cocaine causes coronary and peripheral vasoconstriction; this results in hypertension and episodes of cardiac ischemia that may cause infarcts. In some cases, multiple infarcts may occur even if the coronary arteries are normal.