Heart herbal medicine is sometimes used as a companion to medical treatment to treat heart disease. However, its use should not be arbitrary and should be under the supervision of a doctor. If not, the condition of the disease can even worsen.
Herbal medicines are often considered safe because they are made from natural ingredients. This is what makes some people rely on herbal medicine as an initial treatment when sick.
Not only minor ailments, serious illnesses such as heart disease are also believed to be treated with herbal medicines. However, heart herbal medicine has not been clinically tested.
Therefore, the safety and side effects of heart herbal medicines cannot be predicted. Especially if taken in conjunction with medical heart drugs.
Various Heart Herbal Medicines and Their Impact on the Body
There are several types of heart herbal medicines that you need to be aware of because they are thought to be unsafe when taken with medical drugs to treat heart disease. These medications include:
1. St. John's wort
This type of herbal medicine is usually used to treat depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. However, according to some studies, St. John's wort may reduce the effectiveness of antiarrhythmic drugs digoxin , blood pressure-lowering drugs, and cholesterol-lowering drugs statin class.
2. Garlic
This herbal heart medicine is used to lower bad cholesterol and blood pressure, thin the blood, and treat atherosclerosis.
However, the compound allicin in garlic, which thins the blood, is thought to increase the risk of bleeding when taken with the blood-thinning drug warfarin.
In addition, these compounds are also dangerous for people with heart attacks or people who have a history of heart valve surgery.
3. Ephedra(ma-huang)
The herbal heart medicine ephedra (ma-huang) can cause strokes, heart attacks, seizures, and arrhythmias. This can occur in healthy adults who use this product to suppress appetite or lose weight.
Herbal products containing ephedra can also interfere with the performance of heart medications, such as antiarrhythmic and blood pressure-lowering drugs.
4. Green tea
Green tea is believed to be able to reduce weight and cholesterol and prevent cancer. However, the vitamin K content in herbal heart medicine is thought to counteract the effects of the blood-thinning drug warfarin.
Green tea can also interfere with the work of blood pressure-lowering drugs and medications for heart disease.
5. Ginger
Ginger has long been used to treat various conditions, such as dizziness, nausea, coughing, to menstrual pain. However, who would have thought that ginger is also dangerous when taken with the heart drug warfarin, because it can increase the risk of bleeding.
6. Ginseng
Ginseng is commonly consumed as herbal medicine because it is believed to be good for heart health. However, if used in excess, this herbal plant can reduce the effects of the heart drug warfarin and blood pressure-lowering drugs of the calcium channel blocker group.
7. Other heart herbal remedies
Other herbal medicines, such as coenzyme Q10, evening primrose , licorice , saw palmetto, and ginkgo biloba, are thought to increase the risk of bleeding when combined with blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin.
Instead of treating, it would be better if you start taking preventive steps to avoid heart disease. Start living a healthy lifestyle by quitting smoking, exercising regularly, reducing salt and saturated fat intake, managing stress, and getting enough rest time.
Don't forget to always check your health condition regularly to the doctor to control high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and maintain an ideal body weight.
Well, it can be concluded that natural ingredients are not always safe. Before you decide to use heart herbal medicine to cure heart disease, it is advisable to consult a doctor first, especially if you are taking medicines from a doctor.