Be Careful Using Heart Herbal Medicines

When sick, sometimes Indonesian people first rely on herbal or natural remedies. Not only minor illnesses that are believed to be cured with herbal medicines, severe diseases such as heart disease are also believed to be able to be overcome with herbal heart medicines. In fact, many patients combine medical treatment with heart herbal remedies to recover quickly. Herbal medicines are often considered safe because they are made from natural ingredients. However, alternative medicines such as herbal heart medicines do not necessarily comply with drug laws and are scrutinized. Therefore, the safety and side effects of heart herbal medicines cannot be predicted. Especially if taken together with medical heart medication.

Various Herbal Medicines for the Heart and its Impact on the Body

The following are some heart herbal medicines that are suspected to be unsafe if taken together with medical heart medications:

• John’s wort

Usually used to treat depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. But according to several studies, this herbal medicine can reduce the effectiveness of the antiarrhythmic drug digoxin, blood pressure-lowering drugs, and cholesterol-lowering drugs statins.

• Garlic

This heart herbal medicine is used to lower bad cholesterol or LDL, blood pressure, thin the blood, and treat atherosclerosis. However, the substance of allicin in garlic which can thin the blood actually allegedly can increase the risk of bleeding if taken with warfarin (a blood thinning drug). In addition, these substances are also dangerous for people with heart attacks or who have done heart valve replacement.

• Ephedra (ma-huang)

Herbal medicine for ephedra (ma-huang) can cause strokes, heart attacks, seizures, and artemia. This can occur in healthy adults who use this product to suppress appetite or lose weight. Herbal products that contain ephedra can also interfere with the performance of heart medications, such as antiarrhythmic drugs and lowering blood pressure.

• Green tea

Green tea has been believed to be able to reduce weight and cholesterol, and prevent cancer. However, the content of vitamin K in heart herbal medicines is thought to ward off the effects of warfarin blood-thinning drugs. Green tea can also interfere with the work of blood pressure-lowering drugs and medications for heart disease.

• Ginger

Who would have thought that ginger which has been used for centuries to treat various diseases, can actually increase the risk of bleeding if taken together with warfarin heart medication.

• Ginseng

Ginseng is commonly consumed as an herbal remedy because it is believed to reduce bad cholesterol or LDL and blood pressure. However, if used excessively, ginseng can actually increase blood pressure and reduce the effects of warfarin heart medications and lower blood pressure inhibitors of calcium channel blockers.

• Other heart herbal medicines

Other herbal medicines, such as alfalfa, dong quai, bilberry, fenugreek, and ginkgo biloba, are thought to increase the risk of bleeding when combined with anti-clotting drugs.

Natural does not always mean safe. If you are considering the use of alternative medicine to cure heart disease, it is advisable to discuss it first with a cardiologist. Especially if you intend to take heart herbal medicine along with the medication that has been prescribed by a doctor. Instead of treating, it would be better if heart disease could be prevented. You do this by stopping smoking, exercising at least 30 minutes a day, controlling high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, reducing salt and saturated fat intake, reducing and managing stress, getting enough sleep, and maintaining an ideal body weight, so you don't need to take heart herbal medicines .