Cardiac Drugs and Nutritional Status

Abstract

Cardiac disease is the leading cause of mortality in America (1). Treatment employs lifestyle changes and medical therapeutics as primary methods of combating cardiac disease. The pharmaceutical armamentarium designed to treat the various aspects and incarnations of cardiovascular disease is vast (2,3). The use of potent and often multiple drug therapies necessitate vigilant treatment of the cardiac patient. Many of these drugs impact on nutritional status in both acute and chronic settings. Often, the impact is seen in adverse reactions and drug-nutrient interactions (DNIs) (4,5). Acute reactions, such as nausea and abdominal pain, affecting food intake may adversely affect nutritional status, whereas specific DNIs may have diffuse effects on pharmacokinetics such as drug bioavailability or drug clearance. Carbohydrate, protein, and lipid metabolism may all be altered as a consequence of cardiac pharmacotherapy. Although many interactions have been identified, the clinical relevance of these interactions is not always evident, so the physician should remain aware of all consequences of prescribed regimens.