Typical Heart Drugs Disrupts Blood Thinners

According to the study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, calcium channel blocker drugs that are used for the treatment of heart diseases may reduce the side effects caused by the drugs used as blood thinner.

Defining Blood Thinner

According to the Texas Heart Institute, blood thinner is prescribed by doctors to reduce the following:

• Strokes
• Blood lots that are growing or forming
• Blockage in arteries
• Heart attacks

Though, blood thinners are described as anticoagulants but they do not thin the blood. According to the Texas Heart Institute’s Heart Information Center blood, thinners “decrease the blood’s ability to clot and decreased clotting keeps fewer harmful blood clots from forming and from blocking blood vessels.”

Patients suffering from the following are given blood thinners:

• Phlebitis
• Obesity
• Heart valve replacement
• Congestive heart failure
• Arterial fibrillation
• Complete Renal Failure

Patients who are taking blood thinners are exposed to the list of dangerous interactions that may affect their health. Following is the list of medicines that patients should discuss with their doctor before beginning a blood thinner:

• Sleeping pills
• Convulsion medicines
• Naproxen
• Antidepressants
• Certain antifungal medicines
• Ketoprofen
• Aspirin
• Overactive thyroid medicines
• Antiarrhythmics
• Antihistamines
• Corticosteroids
• Ibuprofen
• Certain antibiotics
• Calcium and vitamin K supplements
• Acetaminophens
• Antacids

Calcium and vitamin K supplements interact mildly with blood thinners. However, according to the study conducted by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, this combination can inactivate the “enzyme essential for the activity” of a blood thinner. For this study, Plavix, a form of blood thinner was used. According to the WebMD, there are many types of blood thinners available in the market including the following:

• Heparin
• Plavix
• Lovenox
• Coumadin
• Fragmin

Among all these blood thinner, heparin is highly controversial blood thinner. Baxter Healthcare Corporation released it in the market in 1972. In 2007, this drug caused severe allergic reactions and health problems in thousands of patients in the United States. It was later found that a batch of heparin was shipped from Chinese manufacturing to the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigated this. Although this drug was used in various surgical procedures like hemodialysis and heart disease, patients suffered from the following illness:

• Shock
• Excessive sweating
• Nausea
• Difficulty in breathing
• Vomiting
• Falling blood pressure
• Death