New Study: Drug Combos Can Be Deadly
Drugs are a messy business and have plagued society for years. The don't discriminate who they hurt or even kill. Just take a look at drug related deaths over the past few years, including those of the more high profile nature including Brittany Murphy, Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson.
Despite the impact individual drugs can have on the body, a new study shows that sometimes a simple combination of them can be fatal.
The study, released by the Institute of Legal Medicine in Seville, Spain, discovered that a combination of factors resulted in the death of 21 drug abusers. 
However, these deaths weren’t caused by drug overdoses – they were the fatal combination of drugs that ended the lives.
Researchers looked at the determining factors involved in sudden deaths in southwest Spain between 2003 and 2006. Through autopsies and toxicology reports, the study determined that in three percent of sudden deaths, a fatal combination of cocaine, alcohol and tobacco use caused sudden death. Among these cocaine-related deaths, 76 percent had also used alcohol at the time of death, and 81 percent were smokers.
It is no secret that cocaine, among other drugs, puts stress on the heart. Just ask Boston Celtic and Maryland fans when tragedy struck the basketball world with the passing of Len Bias. The rising star suddenly died in 1986 after using cocaine.
As most know, substance abusers find more ways than one to get high, using multiple vices at the same time. And in fact, the results of that abuse aren't positive, with 72 percent of drug-related deaths in the U.S. being the result of poly-drug use.
In this particular study, 62 percent of the cocaine-related deaths were associated with cardiovascular (heart) problems. Another 14 percent were associated with cerebrovascular causes (blood vessels in the brain) like strokes or aneurysms.
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