Patients on Anti-Coagulants – Be Careful of What You Drink

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Patients on Anti-Coagulants – Be Careful of What You Drink

Article Description:

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Many heart patients are routinely placed on anti-coagulants.

Anti-coagulants help keep blood thin and flowing freely through

veins and arteries; decreasing the risk of heart attack and

stroke. Heart patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF), in

particular, are advised to take anti-coagulants.

Additional Article Information:

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931 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2006-11-14 10:48:00

Written By: Marcus Stout

Copyright: 2006

Contact Email: mailto:Marcus.Stout@...

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Patients on Anti-Coagulants – Be Careful of What You Drink

Copyright © 2006 Marcus Stout

Golden Moon Tea

http://www.GoldenMoonTea.com

Many heart patients are routinely placed on anti-coagulants.

Anti-coagulants help keep blood thin and flowing freely through

veins and arteries; decreasing the risk of heart attack and

stroke. Heart patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF), in

particular, are advised to take anti-coagulants.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of persistent,

irregular heartbeat (cardiac arrhythmia). In atrial fibrillation,

the heart's upper chambers beat irregularly, affecting blood

flow to the heart muscle and to the rest of the body. It

increases the patient's risk of blood clots, which can cause

strokes and what is known as TIA (transient ischemic attack). TIA

is what most people refer to as a " mini-stroke " , in which the

patient suffers the effects of a stroke, but only for the short

term.

For patients with AF, the heart beat may return to normal on its

own, or the doctor may use electrical shock to get the heart back

into its normal rhythm. Some patients, however, do not respond to

this therapy, and require anti-coagulants to prevent stroke and

other complications. In addition to AF, other heart problems may

also require treatment with anti-coagulants.

Some doctors prescribe an aspirin each day for its blood thinning

and anti-coagulant effects, but some patients require something

stronger than the simple aspirin. For these patients, there are

many prescription anti-coagulants and blood thinners from which

doctors choose.

Anti-coagulants do have side effects; the most prevalent of which

is the inability of your blood to properly clot in the event of

surgery, or other bleeding. It is, therefore, very important to

inform your doctors that you are on anti-coagulants, and to stop

taking them before you have surgery. In addition, anti-coagulants

may interact negatively with other medications and cause

complications.

The most common anti-coagulant is warfarin, also known as

coumadin. If your doctor prescribes warfarin, you should

carefully follow all the recommendations that go along with

warfarin, including having a thorough understanding of all the

interactions. The most important things you should know about

warfarin include:

* You should not become pregnant while taking warfarin. Be

certain that you're using a reliable form of birth control while

taking this medicine. If you become pregnant while taking this

medicine, let your doctor know immediately. Warfarin can cause

birth defects.

* You must temporarily stop taking warfarin if you require any

sort of surgery, including a spinal tap.

* Do not take warfarin in combination with aspirin or NSAIDs,

(non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) unless your doctor

advises you that it's ok. NSAIDs include ibuprofen, naproxen,

celecoxib, and diclofenac. Even our very common over the counter

pain relievers like motrin and advil are ibuprofen, and can cause

serious interactions with warfarin. Serious bleeding in your

stomach and intestines can result when you combine warfarin and

these drugs.

* Watch what you eat and drink. This may be the most surprising

consideration for patients who take warfarin. Many patients have

no idea that their diet can significantly affect how warfarin

works for them.

Dietary Concerns for Patients of Warfarin

Warfarin can be seriously affected by the amount of vitamin K in

your diet. And, vitamin K is in many of the foods that we eat in

large amounts, including the following:

* liver,

* broccoli

* brussels sprouts

* spinach

* Swiss chard

* Coriander

* Collards

* Cabbage

* other green leafy vegetables

Even green tea, which has received rave reviews lately for its

health benefits, can have a negative interaction with warfarin

because of its vitamin K level. This is important for patients to

understand, because many people have begun to drink green tea for

its health benefits, particularly for those with heart problems.

The reason that green tea has been recommended for heart patients

is because it has been shown to be effective in lowering LDL

cholesterol (the bad cholesterol that clogs our arteries). In

addition, green tea inhibits the formation of abnormal blood

clots, which are the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes.

So, we have begun to think of green tea as a healthy beverage for

people who have heart disease or may be genetically predisposed

to heart disease.

However, we now know that those heart patients who are taking

warfarin for its anti-coagulation benefits should not drink green

tea – or at least should not do so without permission from their

doctor.

One compelling piece of information was discovered by the

Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Florida. One

patient receiving warfarin after having a mechanical valve

replacement in his aorta, was progressing well with the warfarin

treatment. However, his body's absorption of the drug suddenly

changed.

Within one week, the patient's absorption of the warfarin

dropped dramatically. Upon examination of the patient's diet, it

was discovered that he had recently begun to drink about one half

to one gallon of green tea per day. Once the patient stopped

drinking the green tea, his absorption of the warfarin began to

return to normal.

Many people do not recognize that green tea is a significant

source of vitamin K, so even if patients have been advised to

avoid foods rich in vitamin K, they may not realize that green

tea falls into this category.

So, if you're a heart patient, be sure to talk to your doctor

about green tea. Green tea contains many healthful benefits, and

can be particularly healthy for heart patients. However, if

you're a heart patient who has been prescribed warfarin, green

tea could significantly reduce the absorption of your medication.

If you'd like to drink green tea for its health benefits, your

doctor may be able to advise you on a quantity that would be

acceptable along with your warfarin.

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Marcus Stout is the President of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea

carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly

and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about

their current tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea

(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea), white tea, black tea, oolong tea (also

known as wu-long and wu long tea - http://www.goldenmoontea.com/wu-long) and

chai. Visit http://www.goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning the Golden

Moon Tea Company's fine line of teas.