The psychoactive drug consumption and the short- and long-term cardiovascular prognosis of patients with cancer admitted for acute cardiovascular events are not well established.

To assess the prevalence of psychoactive drug use, in-hospital outcomes and 1-year prognosis in patients with cancer hospitalized for acute cardiovascular events.

In a prospective multicentre study of all consecutive patients admitted to intensive cardiac care units, a history of cancer was recorded systematically. The primary outcome was the prevalence of psychoactive drugs detected by urine drug assay. The secondary outcomes were: the rate of in-hospital major adverse events, defined as all-cause death, cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest; and the 1-year rate of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, defined as cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction and stroke.

Among 1499 patients recruited, 151 had a history of cancer (10%), including 61 (40%) with active cancer and 90 (60%) with cancer in remission. Among patients with a history of cancer, 39 (25.8%) tested positive for at least one psychoactive drug. Using a matching approach based on the likelihood of having a cancer, a history of cancer was not associated with an increased risk of in-hospital major adverse events (odds ratio: 1.54, 95% confidence interval: 0.68–3.45; P=0.3). However, a history of cancer was associated with a higher incidence of 1-year major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (hazard ratio: 3.04, 95% confidence interval: 1.63–5.67; P<0.001).

The prevalence of psychoactive drug use among patients with a history of cancer hospitalized for acute cardiovascular events was 25.8%. A history of cancer was an independent predictor of 1-year major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.