Pubdate: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) Copyright: 1999 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Contact: http://www.seattle-pi.com/ STUDY LOOKS AT COCAINE USE, HEART ATTACKS MASSACHUSETTS - Cocaine use can promote blood clotting, which may explain how the drug triggers heart attacks in its users, according to a new study. Cocaine caused blood to thicken by increasing the number of red blood cells, and by triggering an increase in a protein that causes platelets to stick together, said Dr. Arthur Siegel, the study's lead author. The "double whammy" can cause clotting that can lead to heart attacks and strokes, said Siegel, chief of internal medicine at McLean Hospital outside Boston. A previous study, released in June, showed that cocaine users are 24 times more likely to have a heart attack during the first hour after taking the drug. The new study, which appears in today's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, may help explain why such heart attacks occur. Siegel acknowledged that the study's small sample size made the conclusions preliminary, and he suggested further study. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea