Of all the dangers surrounding cocaine use, perhaps the least known are the risks of combining the drug with alcohol.
When mixed in the bloodstream, both drugs combine to form a substance even more toxic and powerful than cocaine itself - cocaethylene. (The name is derived from the words "cocaine" and "ethyl alcohol"). While cocaine abuse can result in cardiovascular toxicity and increased blood pressure and heart rate, cocaethylene's side effects are even more acute.
US researchers now believe the majority of deaths due to cocaine overdose are due to simultaneous alcohol consumption.
"Even though many cocaine users think using alcohol will calm them down and slow their metabolism, it in fact causes higher heart rate and blood pressure, which might result in heart failure," according to researchers at the University of California in Berkeley.
Heart failure is the most common cause of death among cocaine users.
The effects of cocaine are unpredictable and can vary depending on a range of factors, such as whether a person is at risk of arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), how the drug is consumed and whether it is combined with other drugs. Many researchers warn that even the smallest dose can cause a severe adverse reaction in certain people.
As well as heart attacks, cocaine use can lead to chest pain, raised blood pressure, respiratory failure, strokes and seizures.