Well, I guess it gets the blood pumping.

A cocaine binge isn’t the kind of thing recommended by doctors, for a number of reasons, but if you’ve ever wondered what happens to your heart rate when you’re hoovering it up then a Fitbit is for you.

Leading the charge are the tech workers, according to CNBC, who offer this example:

At a bachelor party two years ago in South Lake Tahoe, California, a tech worker who we’ll call Owen glanced down at his Fitbit in between snorting lines of cocaine. He noticed his heart rake had spiked to 150, an abnormally high level considering he’d been sitting for hours…

Owen had been indulging every 15 minutes or so, taking turns with his friends, as is customary with his group. Concerned about his elevated heart rate, he passed his Fitbit to someone who had just entered the room to see what would happen after his first line of cocaine. Sure enough, his friend’s heart rate went from around 80 beforehand to 150 about 20 minutes later.

“I think we all knew it would have an impact on our heart rate, but we’d never seen it happen before,” Owen said. “It became interesting to keep an eye on.”

I dunno, does anyone else feel like the constant fear of heart attack/implosion might ruin the fun?

According to America’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, cocaine causes more than 5 000 deaths a year from overdoses alone.

Owen now wears his Fitbit to other festivals and parties, like Burning Man, and he’s not the only one who likes to watch his ticker kick into overdrive:

It isn’t likely to come up in casual face-to-face conversation, but scores of users on Reddit forums, Twitter and other social media sites write about the value of their Fitbit or Apple Watch in tracking their use of cocaine, ketamine, speed, and other drugs. Dozens of these threadshave popped up in the past few years on the topic, some focused on cocaine and others on MDMA, also known as ecstasy…

A Reddit user, who goes by 3meopcpnumberonefan, posted on the website a screenshot from a health app, showing what happened after using cocaine.

“Drugs are basically the only reason I wear a Fitbit,” the post said. “I want an early warning system for when my heart’s going to explode.”

No word on whether Fitbit noticed a spike in sales off the back of these antics, because their reps refused to comment for the story.

Let’s get back to Owen, who really is an interesting case study:

Owen, who does cocaine about six times a year, said his Fitbit helps him control his use, because when his heart rate gets uncomfortably high, he knows to skip a turn…

“If someone says, ‘Let’s do a line,’ I’ll look at my watch,” Owen said. “If I see I’m at 150 or 160, I’ll say, ‘I’m good.’ That’s totally fine. Nobody gives you a hard time.”

Last year at Burning Man, Owen was leaving a party and heading back to his tent when he ran into some members of British special forces whom a friend knew.

A selfless act from our main man, opting out of a line and educating the troops at the same time.

Something tells me Owen isn’t the type of chap who’s bothered about the ethical implications of cocaine production, either.

Anyway, we’re not here to preach. You do you, but make sure you look after your ticker.

[source:cnbc]