Statins ‘must not be mixed with herbal remedies’

Warning to OAPS who are raising their risk of heart attacks or strokes

MORE than a million pensioners are putting themselves at increased risk of heart attack or stroke by taking herbal remedies alongside drugs such as statins and warfarin, researchers have warned.

A new study found older people on the life-saving drugs are often also taking three or more herbal supplements, such as St John’s wort or ginseng, which can reduce their effect.

Patients are then failing to tell their GP about the herbal products because they do not consider them to be medicines, said Prof Helen Stokes-lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPS, responding to the study.

She added that family doctors should ask about the supplements patients are taking so that the potential risks can be explained.

Published in the British Journal of General Practice, the study surveyed patients at two surgeries and found that one third of those over 65 were taking both prescribed drugs and herbal remedies or dietary supplements.

Of these, a third were at risk of a herb-drug interaction, which if applied to the UK population means 1.3 million are at risk.

More than five million people are thought to take statins every day to control their cholesterol levels, while warfarin is taken by nearly one million.

As well as warning that the efficacy of these drugs may be reduced, the study identified a number of combinations of medicines and herbal products which carried a “significant hazard”.

These including mixing bonecal, which is supposed to improve bone tissue, with the thyroid drug Levothyroxine; peppermint, which can aid bloating and irritable bowel syndrome, with Lansoprazole, which regulates stomach acid; and St John’s wort, which is often taken to relieve anxiety and depression, with Amlodipine, which is used to treat high blood pressure.

The authors from the University of Hertfordshire warned that the hazards included increased blood glucose concentration and a risk of bleeding.

“GPS should routinely ask questions regarding herbal and supplement use, to identify

‘GPS should… ask questions regarding herbal and supplement use’

and manage older adults at potential risk of adverse drug interactions,” they said.

According to the survey, women were around twice as likely to use prescribed medicine alongside a dietary supplement to men, 43.4 per cent compared to 22.5.

The most commonly used supplements were cod liver oil, glucosamine, multivitamins, and vitamin D.

Common herbal medicinal products were evening primrose oil, valerian, and a branded herbal product that includes hops, gentian, and passion flower.

The study suggested that doctors print warnings about the risks of herb interactions on prescriptions, and that pharmacists should be trained to ask customers what herbal supplements they are taking.