PubMed · 1998 · 22 citations · 0 references
MedicineCardiologyPharmacotherapyCardiovascular PharmacotherapyFood ChemistryPreventive CardiologyCardiovascular DiseaseCoronary Artery DiseaseIschemic Heart DiseaseMyocardial Infarction ComplicationsBetel NutCoronary Artery Disease PharmacotherapyIschemic Heart Disease PharmacologyMyocardial Infarction PharmacotherapyNutsParasympathomimetic AgentsParasympathomimetic TherapyPharmacology Of Parasympathomimetic Drugs
A patient with coronary artery disease suffered an acute myocardial infarction temporally related to chewing a betel nut. Alkaloids in betel nut, such as arecoline, may play a contributing role in coronary artery spasm due to parasympathomimetic effects on vessels with abnormal endothelium. Chewing betel nuts may instantly induce a high concentration of arecoline in the circulation and do harm to a chewer with a history of coronary artery disease.