Are sodium levels in meds sabotaging your heart-healthy efforts?

By Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D. on Jun 21, 2024

If you have Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, you want to do everything you can to reduce your risks for heart attack and stroke. In addition to complying with your doctor's prescribed treatments, that means getting plenty of exercise, eating a heart-friendly diet and making sure you don't ingest too little or too much salt.

But even the most conscientious of you may be sabotaging your hard work. That's because lots of medications deliver a good dose of (hidden) sodium. A study in PLoS One shows that whether you're getting a high dose for less than a week (around 1,600 milligrams daily from meds) or a low dose taken frequently over a couple of years, the sodium can lead to cardio-complications, especially if you already have high blood pressure or diabetes. Another study confirms this: It found that high levels of sodium in meds cause non-fatal heart attacks, strokes and newly developed high blood pressure for around a quarter of folks taking them.

Medications with the highest doses of sodium are effervescent compounds like 500 milligrams of effervescent acetaminophen, with 440 milligrams of sodium. A 500-milligram dose of non-fizzy acetaminophen contains 390 milligrams of sodium. Soluble ibuprofen and vitamin and mineral supplements like ascorbic acid and zinc sulfate also sneak sodium into your daily diet.

If your blood pressure rose after you started taking any medication, ask your doctor if its sodium content could be to blame. And if you're struggling to lower your blood pressure with antihypertensive medication, investigate the sodium content of your other supplements and meds to see if they are working against you.

Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the world's leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively. Together they have written 11 New York Times bestsellers (four No. 1's).

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.