Patient Resources

Getting a Pacemaker Can Raise Odds for Opioid Abuse

People who are prescribed opioid painkillers after receiving a heart pacemaker or defibrillator may be at risk for opioid abuse -- and the higher the initial dose, the greater the risk, according to a new study.

"The significance of this study is to make other electrophysiologists aware that even a low-risk procedure like a pacemaker or a defibrillator can lead to chronic opioid use and t...

Robert Preidt
|
December 1, 2021
|
Full Page
- Defibrillators Drug Abuse Heart Pacemakers Implants Oxycontin Pain Prescription Drugs

Surgery Often a Gateway to Opioid Abuse, Study Confirms

Surgery is a common gateway to opioid misuse that can put patients at risk of an overdose.

That's the conclusion of a new analysis of data from nearly 14,000 adults who had surgery between 2013 and 2019 at UCLA hospitals. All were opioid-naive, meaning they had not filled a prescription for an opioid painkiller for up to one year before their surgery.

Afterward, they were prescribed...