To this end, the study authors have suggested that healthcare providers should talk to heart failure patients during every visit about all prescription and over-the-counter medications they are taking, as well as nutritional supplements and herbs.
These are the findings of a new American Heart Association (AHA) report published in the advocacy organisation’s journal ‘Circulation’. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalisation for seniors, and the average heart failure patient takes an average of seven prescription medications per day, according to the AHA.
A third of heart failure patients also take herbal supplements, two thirds take vitamins, and seven out of eight use over-thecounter medications.
The study found that wide range of over-thecounter drugs which raises the risk of heart problems include antacid for heartburn, ibuprofen for a headache, an overthe- counter allergy remedy, among others.
Similarly, the study found that even herbal products can interact negatively with heart medications. So, it is important for patients to tell doctors about everything they are taking, according to the AHA report’s authors.
“Since many of the drugs heart failure patients are taking are prescribed for conditions such as cancer, neurological conditions or infections, it is crucial but difficult for healthcare providers to reconcile whether a medication is interacting with heart failure drugs or making heart failure worse,” said Robert L. Page II, a co-author of the report and professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Colorado Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, University of Colorado Hospital.
To lower patient risks, the AHA has compiled a comprehensive guide to prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, and complementary and alternative medicine products that can worsen heart failure.
According to the report, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including commonly used painkillers such as ibuprofen, can trigger or worsen heart failure by causing sodium and fluid retention and making diuretic medications less effective.
“Over-the-counter medications that treat acid reflux often contain significant amounts of sodium, which can boost blood pressure and is usually restricted in patients with heart failure and those on low-salt diets.
“Certain OTC medications that knock down allergy and cold symptoms (including antihistamines and decongestants) — for example, those containing pseudoephedrine or similar components — may cause increases in heart rate or blood pressure that could exacerbate some cardiac conditions.”
They may also contain sodium, the report added. According to the United States (U.S) Food and Drug Administration risk-assessment reports, the commonly used nutritional supplements and alternative medicines were generally far safer than prescription medications. But some can cause or worsen heart failure when taken with cardiovascular medications.
Among them: Products containing ephedra (which raises blood pressure) and others that can interfere with heart failure medication, including St. John’s wort, ginseng, hawthorn, danshen, and green tea. According to the AHA, such medications and remedies can cause problems by being toxic to heart muscle cells or changing how the heart muscle contracts, interacts with medications used to treat heart failure, so that some of their benefits are lost and contains more sodium than advised for patients with heart failure.
