Beware: Antibiotic use can increase your risk of getting a heart attack

A new study explains why commonly used antibiotics like clarithromycin can lead to an increased risk of heart attacks. Read on to know more.

By: Jahnavi Sarma | | Published: November 25, 2020 9:37 am

Compared to patients prescribed amoxicillin, those taking clarithromycin are 31 per cent more likely to be admitted to the hospital with a heart problem within 14 days of starting the prescription. @Shutterstock

Antibiotics are usually prescribed for bacterial infections. But some of these life-saving drugs may also come with some serious side-effects. Though most of the time, it is not so serious, it can sometimes lead to severe side effects like anaphylaxis. Usual problems that may arise from antibiotic use are digestive issues like diarrhea and acidity. You may also experience nausea, indigestion, vomiting, bloating, cramps and loss of appetite. But most of the time, these issues disappear when you stop taking the medication. However, sometimes, you may experience relatively severe side-effects including fever, uncontrollable vomiting, blood in stool and even difficulty in breathing. But now, according to a new study, the use of a certain antibiotic may also significantly increase your risk of cardiovascular diseases and offer suggestions on how this can be avoided. Also Read - Exposure to antibiotics linked to reduced weight and height in boys: Study

Researchers from the University of Dundee have explained why commonly used antibiotics like clarithromycin can lead to an increased risk of heart attacks, opening up the possibility of precision prescribing based on a patient’s genes. In recent years, it has been suggested that patients taking clarithromycin rather than alternative antibiotics are more likely to suffer a serious cardiovascular event, but research into this association had proved inconclusive. For the results, the research team from the University of Dundee in the UK took a different approach to previous studies. Taking advantage of the extensive electronic database compiled locally, they explored both medical prescribing records and genetic data to determine whether clarithromycin use is indeed linked to an increased risk of heart problems. Also Read - Are antibiotics safe for teenagers - What to expect?

Clarithromycin ups risk of hospitalization by 31 per cent

Their study showed that compared to patients prescribed amoxicillin, those taking clarithromycin are 31 per cent more likely to be admitted to the hospital with a heart problem within 14 days of starting the prescription and 13 per cent more likely to be admitted to the hospital with a heart disease up to a year after the conclusion of the prescription. In addition, they found that patients taking certain types of medications, such as statins, at the same time are even more likely to have a heart issue if given clarithromycin rather than amoxicillin. Also Read - Foods to avoid if you're taking antibiotics

A genetic factor contributes too

Medications such as statins and clarithromycin work in the body using a pathway controlled by a protein called P-glycoprotein. Using genetic data, the researchers found that patients with a genetic predisposition to lower P-glycoprotein activity are also at 40 per cent higher risk of heart problems up to a year after taking clarithromycin rather than amoxicillin. Taken together, these results suggest that patients should be prescribed alternative antibiotics if they are taking P-glycoprotein inhibitors such as statins, or if they have a particular genotype.

According to researchers, they set out to examine whether this association might be mediated via P-glycoprotein, a major pathway for clarithromycin metabolism. During the course of the study, they found that clarithromycin use was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular hospitalisation up to a year post-prescription compared to amoxicillin.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Published : November 25, 2020 9:37 am

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