Cardiotoxic is the name given to drugs that, when treating one disease, can adversely affect the condition of the main muscle of the body. On the air of the program “About the Most Important Thing” Alexander Myasnikov talked about what medications you should be careful of. He noted that the topic of drugs that can negatively affect the functioning of the heart is not an easy one. Some may experience this influence, others may not. “If a person is immobile, has diabetes, metabolic syndrome, is overweight, has bad habits, then there is such a stereotype, high sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, a smoker, and so on,” the doctor noted.
In fact, the doctor noted, any medicine can harm the heart. For example, classic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They provoke increased blood pressure, angina pectoris, heart attacks, and fluid retention. “Some new drugs from this group were simply withdrawn from the market because the dynamics of heart attacks and strokes went up. People over 60 years old should take them with caution,” Myasnikov explained. Namely, people of this age category most often require such funds.
A special place is occupied by drugs to lower blood pressure. “These are the ones you quickly put under your tongue as first aid. But pressure drops sharply not only in the arteries, but also in the kidneys, lungs and brain. Hence heart attacks and strokes. The doctor cannot offer you such a pill in absentia. Because if you take it yourself, your blood pressure will drop and you may die. And if there is a doctor, he will be able to react, put on an IV,” Myasnikov explained.
Classically, there are drugs that are classified as antibiotics – anticancer drugs. “The antibiotic was created for the treatment of oncology; it may have serious cardiodepressive properties. But it happens that some tumors respond to it. And we are forced to do this, realizing that this can cause heart problems,” said the doctor.
Other antibiotics can also cause problems. Some may cause arrhythmia. Other medications are used to relieve arrhythmia. “You take it to treat atrial fibrillation, but you get fatal ventricular tachycardia, defibrillation. They are given for one purpose, but cause other, more serious rhythm diseases,” Myasnikov noted.
Diuretics are good for everyone, but they can lead to excessive excretion of trace elements, in particular the well-known potassium. This is a very important indicator that is always checked in the hospital. Low potassium can lead to death very quickly. “It always needs to be checked and compensated, because a person on diuretics can very quickly lose potassium,” said Myasnikov. Diuretics are now given with potassium-increasing drugs. An excessive increase in potassium is also harmful.
There is also pharmacokinetics, a science that people are starting to talk about. It happens that two people have the same weight and age, but the same medicine will affect you differently. Some people have a genetic predisposition. “Everything is interconnected, many drugs break down along the same chain, you take drugs and as a result the concentration increases. The doctor is supposed to know this,” Myasnikov said.
The following sources were used in preparing the material: “About the most important things”
Source: aif.ru