Grapefruit juice may enhance drug toxicity for antiarrhythmic agents such as amiodarone, quinidine, disopyramide, or propafenone, and for the congestive heart failure drug, carvediol. Some drugs for the treatment of peripheral or central vascular disease also have the potential to interact with grapefruit juice.
What heart medication should not be taken with grapefruit?
Don’t drink grapefruit juice if you’re taking any of these medications, unless advised to by your doctor: Some statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs): lovastatin (Mevacor), atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor).
Why is grapefruit not good with blood pressure medicine?
Grapefruit contains compounds that may interfere with how your body absorbs some drugs, including some blood pressure medicines. It can leave too much or too little of the drug in your bloodstream, which may be dangerous. Always ask your doctor or pharmacist if grapefruit could affect the medicine you’re taking.
What are the dangers of eating grapefruit?
Grapefruit interferes with proteins in the small intestine and liver that normally break down many medications. Eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice while taking these medications can lead to higher levels of them in your blood — and more side effects.
Can you eat grapefruit with a heart condition?
Grapefruit is low in calories; high in vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants; and nutritious. It should be enjoyed as part of a heart-healthy diet and lifestyle. Patients stabilized on medications can consume a fresh grapefruit or a 10-ounce glass of grapefruit juice without fear of major adverse effects.
Does grapefruit affect your heart?
It turns out that grapefruit also contains a substance called naringenin that can cause subtle changes in the heart’s carefully choreographed timing. It does this by slightly prolonging what’s known as the QT interval (see “What is long QT syndrome?”).
Can I eat grapefruit while on a statin?
Combining grapefruit with your statin medication can cause a higher chance of more severe side effects like muscle pain, joint pain, or even rhabdomyolysis. Talk with your healthcare provider if you have any of these side effects.
Is grapefruit juice Good for you if you have high blood pressure?
Citrus fruits, including grapefruit, oranges, and lemons, may have powerful blood-pressure-lowering effects. They’re loaded with vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that may help keep your heart healthy by reducing heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure ( 4 ).
Why can’t diabetics have grapefruit?
Grapefruit is typically eaten with sugar sprinkled on top, which can add significantly to the amount of carbohydrates one has to take insulin for and can even put you at the risk of experiencing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
What medications does grapefruit mess with?
Medicines affected by grapefruit
- Statins. Statins are medicines that lower your cholesterol.
- Calcium channel blockers.
- Anticoagulants.
- Antiplatelet medicines.
- Ciclosporin and immunosuppressants.
- Entocort.
- Cytotoxic medicines.
- Other medicines.
Is one grapefruit a day too much?
Instead of focusing just on grapefruits, aim for the recommended 2 to 2.5 cups of fruits per day ( 20 ). Grapefruits can be part of these servings — but you don’t need to consume them at every meal.
What happens if I eat a grapefruit everyday?
Eating one grapefruit daily may help lower LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol. That’s great news for your heart. “Bad” cholesterol is a type of fat that can build up in your arteries and raise your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Is grapefruit good for arteries?
Grapefruit also is laden with natural plant compounds called phytochemicals, specifically flavonoids, which studies show can help fight stroke and heart disease.
Can grapefruit cause arrhythmia?
A high intake of grapefruit juice—and other dietary flavonoids found in fruits, vegetables, tea and wine—could correspond to QT interval prolongation in healthy individuals and those with heart disease, leaving them vulnerable to serious arrhythmias like torsades-de-pointes.
How does grapefruit affect blood thinners?
Grapefruit can cause new blood thinners like Eliquis and Xarelto to reach higher levels in the blood. A common side effect of this can be bleeding anywhere in the body, but this often happens first in your gut.
How do you clean your heart arteries?
Research from 2019 notes that a low fat, plant-based diet can effectively reverse coronary artery disease.
This includes eating a diet that consists of:
- grains.
- legumes.
- vegetables.
- fruits.
- nuts.
- seeds.
Can grapefruit cause AFIB?
Certain compounds in grapefruit can cause the concentration of afib medications in your bloodstream to spike. For example, if you take the anticoagulant warfarin (Coumadin), eating grapefruit can make your blood thinner than normal and put you at risk for a bleed.
Do bananas interfere with heart medications?
Bananas and other potassium-rich foods, plus ACE inhibitors. If you take blood pressure-lowering ACE inhibitors with potassium-rich foods, including bananas, avocados, tomatoes and dried apricots, you can get high potassium levels in your body, which can lead to potentially dangerous heart arrhythmias, Brown warns.
Can I eat grapefruit in the morning and take Lipitor at night?
Yes, you should not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking Lipitor (atorvastatin). Compounds in grapefruit can negatively interact with certain statins, including Lipitor, Altoprev (lovastatin), and Zocor (simvastatin).
What fruits interfere with high blood pressure medication?
People taking ACE inhibitors or ARBs should limit their intake of high-potassium foods like bananas, oranges, avocados, tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes and dried fruits —, especially apricots.
How long does it take for grapefruit to lower blood pressure?
“In the present study, a single intake of grapefruit juice increased the plasma concentration of nifedipine and also decreased blood pressures 3 hours after intake of grapefruit juice…”