While cocaine use is associated with an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease, new research shows that the condition could be reversed if users reduce or stop usage.

The study, published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, a medical journal owned by the American Society of Addiction Medicine, was led by Shenghan Lai, MD, a pathology professor at Johns Hopkins.

Lai’s team found that reducing cocaine use can lead to the regression of unstable, noncalcified coronary plaques, which can cause heart attacks and stroke.

"In the past, there has been excellent work to uncover the consequences of drug use," Lai said. "However, few studies have revealed what happens after drug use stops. Studies of this kind give people hope for a healthier life after stopping drug use."

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 1.5 million people in the U.S. used cocaine in 2014.

Other studies have showed that cash incentive programs help patients reduce use of cocaine or stop altogether. Results from this research showed that reducing cocaine use lowered levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1), an inflammation promoting protein that plays a role in the development of coronary artery disease.

In Lai’s study, his team investigated whether the drop in the protein lead to reductions in cocaine-induced coronary artery disease. They examined 15 patients, all of whom were black, who used cocaine for an average of 20 years and suffered from blocked coronary arteries.

Using CT angiography, they studied the amount and type of coronary plaques patients had before and after they stopped using cocaine. They found that over time, as patients reduced their cocaine use, levels of ET-1 and other inflammation markers decreased.

"This preliminary study demonstrates potentially beneficial effects of cocaine abstinence/reduction on inflammation and coronary plaque phenotype," the authors wrote in the study. "Inflammation appears to be a significant link."