What if I am taking medications not on this website?
Some medicines and treatments can stop your heart medications from working properly and can cause other health problems. Tell your doctor and pharmacist about all the medications you are taking to make sure they are all safe for you. This includes:
- prescription medications for other conditions or illnesses
- medications for any purpose that you buy without a prescription (non-prescription or over-the-counter medications)
- vitamins or mineral supplements
- sample medicines a doctor might have given to you for free
- inhalers
- creams and ointments
- herbal and natural health products
- traditional medicines
- alternative therapies.
If you have questions or concerns about any of your medications, talk to your pharmacist, nurse practitioner or doctor.
What do I need to know about non-prescription (over-the-counter) medications?
Medicines you can buy without a prescription include:
- painkillers
- allergy medications
- antacids
- cold and flu products
- vitamins and mineral supplements.
Some of these can cause serious problems for people with heart disease.
What do I need to know about alternative therapies?
Some examples of alternative therapies include:
- herbal medicine
- natural health products
- traditional medicines and therapies.
The government does not control or regulate alternative medicines and therapies as strictly as prescription medications. So we don’t always know if they are safe or useful for you – or if they are changing the effectiveness of your heart medications.
Safety tip
Some non-prescription products and therapies can cause serious problems for people with heart disease. Always check with your doctor, nurse practitioner or pharmacist before taking any non-prescription medications or alternative therapies.
