Heart failure: Avoiding medicines that make symptoms worse

Over-the-counter medicines you may need to avoid (talk to your doctor or pharmacist)

Prescription medicines you may need to avoid (talk to your doctor or pharmacist)

Pain relievers called NSAIDs

• Ibuprofen, such as Advil and Motrin
• Naproxen, such as Aleve
• Aspirin, such as Bayer
  • If your doctor has told you to take a low-dose aspirin every day for your heart problems, it’s probably okay to take it. Low-dose aspirin can help prevent blood clots and may prevent a stroke or a heart attack.
  • Higher doses of aspirin may make your heart failure worse. Do not take aspirin for pain, such as from headaches or arthritis. Use acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, instead.

Prescription NSAIDs

• Celecoxib (Celebrex)
• Etodolac (Lodine)
• Ibuprofen (prescription-strength Motrin)
• Indomethacin (Indocin)
• Ketoprofen
• Nabumetone (Relafen)
• Naproxen sodium (Anaprox)
• Piroxicam (Feldene)
• Salsalate (Disalcid, Salsitab)
• Sulindac (Clinoril)

Cold, cough, flu, or sinus medicines

• Be sure to check the label. Do not take medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, phenylephrine, or oxymetazoline, such as:
  • Sudafed.
  • Nose sprays (decongestants), such as Afrin and Dristan.
  • Herbal remedies, such as ma huang and Herbalife.

• Make sure your cough and cold medicines don't contain aspirin or ibuprofen.

Antiarrhythmics

• These are drugs used to treat a fast or uneven heart rhythm. You may need to avoid the following:
  • Quinidine (Quinaglute, Quinidex Extentabs)
  • Disopyramide (Norpace)
  • Procainamide
  • Flecainide (Tambocor)
  • Sotalol (Betapace AF)
  • Propafenone (Rythmol)
  • Dofetilide (Tikosyn)

Antacids or stool softeners

• Do not take ones that contain sodium, such as Alka-Seltzer or Dulcolax.

Calcium channel blockers

• People with a certain kind of heart failure may need to avoid the following medicines:
  • Diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor XR, Taztia, Tiazac)
  • Verapamil (Calan SR, Isoptin SR)

• If you need to take a calcium channel blocker for another health problem, such as high blood pressure, your doctor will watch your health carefully.

Certain diabetes medicines

• Most diabetes drugs are safe to take, but you may need to avoid the following:
  • Thiazolidinediones—rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos)
  • Metformin (Glucophage)

Certain antibiotics

• Some antibiotics may interfere with how your body uses the medicine digoxin. If you take digoxin, talk with your doctor before taking antibiotics.