How many British murder mysteries feature perpetrators who were sweet old ladies with lovely foxglove in their gardens—the perfect plant source for digitalis? Digitalis in the right amount helps hearts. A significant overdose of digitalis? Read all about how the police cart the corpse away.

There have been many stories about herbal remedies interacting with prescription medicines in bad ways.

That is why it is important for your doctors to know if you use these remedies. Which ones? How much?

Contrary to popular belief, herbal remedies are not “totally safe.” Contrary to popular belief, people who have chronic conditions really should not use an herbalist in place of a physician.

Anything which has the power to help you also has the potential to do harm if you are not careful.

The Journal of American College of Cardiology (Abstract)

“More than 15 million people in the U.S. consume herbal remedies or high-dose vitamins. The number of visits to providers of complementary and alternative medicine exceeds those to primary care physicians, for annual out-of-pocket costs of $30 billion. Use of herbal products forms the bulk of treatments, particularly by elderly people who also consume multiple prescription medications for comorbid conditions, which increases the risk of adverse herb-drug-disease interactions. Despite the paucity of scientific evidence supporting the safety or efficacy of herbal products, their widespread promotion in the popular media and the unsubstantiated health care claims about their efficacy drive consumer demand. In this review, we highlight commonly used herbs and their interactions with cardiovascular drugs. We also discuss health-related issues of herbal products and suggest ways to improve their safety to better protect the public from untoward effects.” (Emphasis added)

Reuters

“Some herbal remedies may increase the potency of prescription drugs for heart disease or make them less effective, a team of experts concluded.

“Mixing herbs and drugs also could cause serious heart rhythm problems and bleeding, according to the review published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

“Use of herbal supplements among elderly patients is especially concerning because they typically have more than one disease, take multiple medications and already are at greater risk of bleeding, the report said.”

Source: Reuters, February 1, 2010

Citation: Journal of American College of Cardiology,