Cardiomegaly; methadone

I know what you are thinking, you think my uncle was addicted to heroine, and therefore doctors put him on methadone to remove his addiciton to heroine.  But your wrong.  My uncle was never on heroine.  He was attending a pain pill adict rehab clinic and his doctors put him on methadone to remove his addiction to pain medication.  Isn't methadone a pain/addictive drug?  Do you think he should of been put on his medication, even though his doctors knew he was a pain pill addict?

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

Dear JK

This is a bit removed from the realm of cardiology. I am aware that pain specialists do use methadone, even in patients with addictions to substances other than heroin; from what I understand, this is a legitimate and effective strategy. Treating addiction is difficult and his doctors probably did their best.

I hope this has been useful. I wish you the best of luck. Feel free to write back.

Information provided here is for general purposes only. Specific questions should be addressed to your own doctor. If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.