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Herbal supplements and heart medicines may not mix

Danshen

Danshen can interact strongly with some heart medicines, such as:

  • Blood thinners. Danshen may raise your risk of bleeding. This can happen if you also take warfarin or other blood thinners, such as clopidogrel (Plavix) or aspirin, with danshen.
  • Blood pressure medicine. Danshen may make your blood pressure too low if you take danshen and a drug used to lower blood pressure. An example of a blood pressure drug is the calcium channel blocker diltiazem (Cardizem).
  • Digoxin (Lanoxin). If you take danshen and digoxin, it may add to the effects of digoxin and raise the risk of irregular heartbeat, also called arrhythmia. Digoxin is used to treat many heart conditions.