Alternative therapies with herbal, dietary, and vitamin supplements have escalated considerably in the western world during the past 10 years. Alternative therapies were used in more than 40% of adults in the United States during 1997, and a consumer poll in 1998 indicated that more than 30% of respondents use herbal remedies. In the United States the use of herbal therapy in 1997 was 12% vs. 2.5 percent in 1990, at a consumer cost of greater than $5 billion. During 2001, more than $17 billion was spent on dietary supplements with greater than $4.2 billion spent for herbal remedies in the United States.
It appears that of patients who take prescription medi¬cations, nearly 20% use herbal remedies, high-dose dietary supplements, or both. More important, adverse drug interactions involving prescribed medications and herbal remedies are common. It is estimated that more than 20 million adults in North America are at risk for these adverse interactions, some of which are cardiovascular. In 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warnings about nephrotoxic and other toxic and carcino¬genic effects associated with products containing, kava, comfrey, and aristolochic acid. Reportedly approximately 33% of Asian medicines contain toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, and mercury that have deleterious cardiovas¬cular effects. Drugs such as ephedrine, chlorpheniramine, and testosterone are also contained in so-called herbal remedies.

Страницы: 1 | 2