Herbal medicine: Beneficial effects, side effects, and promising new research in the treatment of arrhythmias

Abstract

Herbal medications and dietary supplements are unregulated in the United States. The use of these medications has dramatically increased over the past decade. Many of these drugs are biologically active, yet physicians are often unaware their patients are using a traditional remedy. Physicians are frequently unfamiliar with the medications being used and the intended effect, as well as the side-effect profiles that accompany them. Recently, some of the herbal mediations that are commonly used in the general population have been shown to be beneficial for the treatment of arrhythmias. Unfortunately, many more have been shown to be detrimental. In this article, the background behind herbal medication and the degree to which herbal medications are being used is reviewed. Herbal medications known to have beneficial effects in the treatment of arrhythmias, as well as those that have known detrimental effects with regard to cardiac arrhythmias, are highlighted. Finally, research that has been done in this field, focusing on those compounds that have been shown to be biologically active in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, are reviewed.

Cardiovascular Toxicities of Performance-Enhancing Substances in Sports

“…Performance-enhancing substances that are described as supplements, vitamins, or minerals are marketed as nutritional supplements and are protected from FDA regulation by the 1994 US DSHEA. [95][96][97][98] Manufacturers of these products are not required to demonstrate proof of efficacy or safety and lack a regulatory body responsible for evaluating their products for purity. Contamination and mislabeling occur frequently, and banned substances have been detected in over-the-counter formulations (eg, 19norandrosterone in andro tablets).…”

Inhibition of CYP2B6 by Medicinal Plant Extracts: Implication for Use of Efavirenz and Nevirapine-Based Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) in Resource-Limited Settings

“…Thus, studies such as this one, which seek to scientifically validate the safety of herbal medicines, are imperative. Herbal medicine is being used for the treatment of a wide spectrum of disease conditions including cardiovascular and viral disease, cancer and diabetes [29]. There is increasing evidence to also show that there is concomitant use of herbal medicines with conventional medicines which leads to clinical complications resulting from herb–drug interactions [11,19,30].…”

Potential Ipriflavone and Warfarin Interaction

“…This is not usually the case because patients often do not disclose herbal medication use to their providers. 5 Finally, we urge all health care providers to routinely screen for and discuss use of herbal medications with their patients. …”