The American Heart Association has issued a dire warning that more than 100 medications and supplements can seriously threaten the lives of heart failure patients.
Since over 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure the timely statement from the AHA based on their scientific research is a must for sufferers and their healthcare providers.
“Drug interactions and negative side effects are the number one reasons for visits to the emergency rooms for those over the age of 65,” Dr. Kevin Campbell, a board-certified cardiologist from North Carolina tells Newsmax Health.
“As this American Heart Association statement points out, it is critical for patients with chronic heart failure, or CHF, to avoid potentially dangerous drug interactions. The article also includes so-called natural supplements and these, too, must be taken with great caution.
“Many have side effects that can interfere with the absorption of other drugs necessary for CHF patients or cause rapid heart rate. Your doctor must be informed of any over the counter medications or supplements with on CHF drugs.”
Heart failure patients have, on the average, suffer from five or more separate medical conditions and take seven or more prescription medications daily often prescribed by different health care providers.
“Since many of the drugs heart failure patients are taking are prescribed for conditions like cancer, neurological conditions or infections, it is crucial but difficult for health care providers to reconcile whether a medication is interacting with heart failure drugs or making the condition failure worse,” says Robert L. Page II, chairman of the writing committee for the new AHA scientific statement.
Healthcare providers should talk to patients at every visit about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications they may be taking as well as nutritional supplements and herbs, adds Page, who is also a professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Colorado Schools of Pharmacy.
An example of a potentially dangerous interaction with OTC drugs is the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDS by heart failure patients to relieve pain.
“Medications such as ibuprofen and naproxen can cause sodium and fluid retention which can trigger or worsen heart failure while making diuretic medication ineffective,” Dr. Richard Harris, a specialist at the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Texas, tells Newsmax Health.
The AHA team also zeroed in on the following medications and remedies:
Drugs that contain sodium and those over-the-counter drugs that end in “D” for decongestant can cause problems for heart patients.
Drugs that contain sodium aren’t good for people told to limit their intake. For example the osteoporosis drug, alendronate, is an effervescent table with 650 grams of sodium per tablet. Some antibiotics also contain high levels of sodium.
Decongestants such as pseudoephedrine can raise heart rate and blood pressure.
Watch out for natural products beginning with the letter “G.” These include green tea, ginkgo, ginger, grapefruit juice, and garlic powder. These were found to interact with medicines often taken by heart failure patients. For instance, green tea can affect the way the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) works, the researchers found.
St. John’s wort, a remedy for depression, can also interact with many heart drugs, the committee found. This herb can cause a buildup of the drug dioxin in the blood that can trigger an abnormal and fatal heart rhythm.
“Keep a list of all your medications and doses to show at every medical visit, and inform the health care provider treating your heart failure before starting or stopping any medication. Ideally there should be a ‘captain’ who oversees your medications,” advises Page.
Campbell adds that that using an app such as MyRxProfile to organize your meds may help to identify any adverse reaction.
“You can scan the label of the drug or UPC code and the application will quickly identify ANY potential interaction,” he says.
For more information, visit www.MyRxProfile.com