Heart Health

Heart medication interactions

Certain drugs, supplements, and foods can interact with common heart medications.

By , Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

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Several factors beyond your control, such as your age and genetic makeup, can affect how your body reacts to different medications. And sometimes, things you ingest — including certain prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, or foods — change how medications work in your body. Known as drug-drug or drug-nutrient interactions, these influences can occur at any point of the drug’s "life cycle": absorption, metabolism, or excretion.

Pharmacies routinely use computer systems that automatically flag prescription drug interactions. However, that doesn’t mean people must always avoid taking drugs with known interactions, says pharmacist Lina Matta, director of ambulatory pharmacy at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

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About the Author

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Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter

Julie Corliss is the executive editor of the Harvard Heart Letter. Before working at Harvard, she was a medical writer and editor at HealthNews, a consumer newsletter affiliated with The New England Journal of Medicine. She … See Full Bio
View all posts by Julie Corliss

About the Reviewer

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Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing

Dr. Christopher P. Cannon is editor in chief of the Harvard Heart Letter. He is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and senior physician in the Preventive Cardiology section of the Cardiovascular Division at … See Full Bio
View all posts by Christopher P. Cannon, MD

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