Herbal medicines, such as St. John’s wort, can dilute, enhance, or worsen the side effects of prescription heart medications.
Story highlights
- Recent study names 25 herbal products people with cardiovascular disease should avoid
- Herbal medicines are safe on their own, but can cause problems when taken with heart medications
- Herbal products are not subject to the same checks as prescription drugs.
- Some doctors say you should stop taking all herbal supplements
(Healthcom) — If you are taking medications for heart disease, you may want to avoid some of the most popular over-the-counter herbal supplements on the market, such as ginseng, saw palmetto, and echinacea. These and many other herbal remedies can potentially cause serious problems for people taking heart disease medications, a new report warns.
“These products themselves are not dangerous,” says lead author Dr. Arshad Jahangir, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. “But a relatively safe compound can become dangerous when taken with drugs to treat cardiovascular disease.”
Herbal medicines such as ginseng, ginkgo biloba, garlic, black cohosh, St. John’s wort, hawthorn, saw palmetto, and echinacea can dilute, enhance, or worsen the side effects of prescription heart medications such as blood thinners and cholesterol-lowering statins. There is a gender. the report says.
Some supplements can increase heart rate and blood pressure, leading to complications in heart patients.
The report, published this week in the Feb. 9 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, lists more than 25 herbal products that people with cardiovascular disease should avoid, including Contains 12 of the 20 best-selling herbal supplements. According to the American Botanical Council.
Health.com: Heart disease? 30 herbal medicines to avoid
For example, St. John’s wort, which is commonly taken to treat depression and anxiety, can affect the body’s absorption of dozens of prescription drugs and reduce the effectiveness of statins and beta-blockers, which are used to treat high blood pressure and high blood pressure. may be reduced. Heart rhythm disorder.
On the other hand, herbal supplements such as garlic and ginkgo biloba can interfere with the action of blood thinners (particularly warfarin) and increase the risk of bleeding associated with these drugs.
“Stay away from the four G’s: garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, and ginger,” says Dr. Elsa Grace Giardina, a cardiologist at Columbia University in New York. He is researching herbal remedies and drugs to treat heart disease, but was not involved in this study. Current report. “They all help with bleeding.”
Even grapefruit juice, which people often drink for weight loss and heart health, can increase blood levels of statins and increase the risk of liver damage and muscle pain, the report says.
Dr. Jahangir said older people need to be especially careful about such interactions because they are much more likely to suffer from heart disease than younger people and may be taking six or more prescription medications. It states that there is.
Health.com: Cholesterol supplements: what works?
Many heart patients, and even some doctors, are unaware of the dangers of mixing heart medicines with herbal products, he added. Physicians rarely ask for a detailed list of alternative treatments for patients to take, and patients rarely provide that information voluntarily.
“Patients typically discuss prescription and over-the-counter medications, but in their minds they may be thinking: [herbal] Compounds are not drugs,” says Dr. Jahangir.
Health.com: 10 foods that are best for your heart
Mixing heart medicines and herbal products is even more risky due to the lack of scientific evidence and regulation for herbal products and other dietary supplements, the report suggests. Although the efficacy of some herbal products may be comparable to some prescription drugs, they are not subject to the same testing as prescription drugs.
Few herbal products have been extensively tested for safety and effectiveness in randomized, placebo-controlled trials, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires for prescription drugs. Additionally, the FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they go to market, and only monitors the safety and purity of herbal products if consumers report side effects or other issues.
Health.com: Which statins lower cholesterol?
As a result, many popular herbal products have no proven efficacy, some contain impurities, or contain inconsistent amounts of active ingredients.
“The public believes that there are checks on everything, but that is simply not true,” Dr. Jahangir said.
Dr. Giardina recommends that heart patients, and others for that matter, avoid herbal products.
“Frankly, I would avoid all of that,” she says. “Go to your medicine cabinet and get rid of anything you take in pill form that you bought at the herbal store. Save your money and go buy some shoes.”
Health.com: Supplements for depression: What works and what doesn’t.
Copyright Health Magazine 2011
