Popular Heartburn Drugs Reduce Plavix Effectiveness

Federal health authorities on Tuesday issued a public health advisory warning patients and physicians of a potentially serious adverse drug interaction between Plavix, an anti-clotting medication, and Prilosec, which is used to reduce stomach acid. The agency says the warning is based on a yet-to-be-published study that provided evidence that omeprazole, the active ingredient in Prilosec and other popular heartburn drugs, “reduces the pharmacological activity of (clopidogrel-Plavix) if given concomitantly or if given 12 hours apart,” thus increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. In most cases, a heart attack or stroke is caused by a blood clot that reduces or blocks the flow of blood through an artery. Plavix helps keep platelets in the blood from sticking together and forming blood clots. It is generally prescribed for people who have suffered a recent heart attack or stroke, or who have been diagnosed with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD), conditions that increase the risk for future heart attack or stroke. However, because Plavix can cause stomach upset and bleeding, doctors also prescribe acid-reducers such as Prilosec. Prilosec belongs to a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Several previous studies have suggested that PPIs might interfere with Plavix, and the new data confirms it. In fact, the latest study shows that Prilosec lowers the effective of Plavix by half. Mary Ross Southworth, deputy director for safety in the FDA’s division of cardiovascular and renal products, said it believes that the “mechanism of action is because of omeprazole’s activity on the 2C19 enzyme,” which is needed to convert Plavix into its active form in the body. If the action of the enzyme is blocked, less Plavix is available in the bloodstream. Share and Enjoy: