Sonali Phogat death: How Meth might have caused heart failure

Police said the accused, Sudhir Sangvan and Sukhwinder Singh, “intentionally gave the victim an obnoxious chemical substance in a liquid” hours before she died on Tuesday morning. The expert said that the drug can be given in the form of a tablet, which may be mixed in a drink.

Last year, the American Heart Association journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, had done a study on how Meth hurts the heart. “Our study results should bring urgent attention to this insidious yet rapidly growing form of severe heart failure – methamphetamine-related heart failure, which is taking the lives of young people…..the problem has been made drastically worse in recent years by the increase in purer, more potent methamphetamine throughout our communities. Methamphetamine, also known as meth, is an addictive stimulant that can affect the cardiovascular system by triggering blood vessel spasms and life-threatening spikes in blood pressure. It can also increase plaque in the arteries and rewire the heart’s electrical system. Prolonged methamphetamine use has been associated with a severe form of dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the weakened heart muscle becomes enlarged and cannot pump adequate blood.”

Similarly, an analysis from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre from the University of New South Wales-Australia concludes that sporadic, low-dose use of methamphetamine may induce cardiac complications in the healthy. But when given in higher doses – and this “toxic” dosage is unclear and also depends on the individual’s response – may lead to narrowing and spasms in the blood vessels, rapid heart rate (tachycardia), high blood pressure, and death of cardiac muscles. In the long run, it can result in early development of coronary artery disease (blockage of arteries to the heart), formation of fibrous tissue in the heart, and the heart muscles enlarging, making it difficult to pump blood to all parts of the body (dilated cardiomyopathy). The risk of these effects on the heart increases in those who take Meth along with other drugs, especially psycho-stimulant drugs, the UNSW analysis said.