Topic Title: St. John's Wort causes tachycardia episodes
| |  "St. John's Wort causes tachycardia episodes"
, Sun 3 Jul 11:10
I recently went on St. Johns Wort with success for mild depression. I was taking 3 x 300mg capsules at night time, before bed.
After 8 weeks, once there was sufficient buildup in my system, I started to experience severe SVTs (Supraventricular tachycardia).
I suffer from mild SVTs which can usually only be brought on by excessive caffeine, echinecea or stimulants such as ephedrine. For me, I know I am having these episodes because of the sharp heart pain they cause. My heart is unable to beat correctly and escalates to 200 bpm trying to pump blood correctly.
The SVTs I experienced on St. John's Wort were the worst I've ever had. They were sustained every 2 hrs and lasted 4 days. They had to be stopped with drugs (beta blockers) and ceasing St. John's Wort immediately.
I tried going back on the St. John's Wort after 3 days of abstenence to be sure of it being the cause of my SVTs. I tried just 300mg and experienced the SVTs again although not as serious as before. I already it knew it to be the culprit.
I wanted to pass this information on. It seems herbs such as echinecea and St. John's Wort are pushed with far less warning of their complications and side effects. They are just herbs with little regulation. St. John's Wort works great for most people and is a welcome alternative to drugs but for those suffering heart tachycardia issues please be warned.
-- Chris
Posts: 0 | | Registered: Sun 3 Jul 2005 11:8 |
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| |  "Re(1):St. John's Wort causes tachycardia epis"
, Sun 3 Jul 11:23:
I think it's fair to say that SJW only causes SVTs for people who are already predisposed to this kind of heart problem... I've never heard of anyone else having this issue, but then I've never heard of anyone who suffers from supraventricular tachycardia either. It sounds pretty rare, but I believe you and it's worth adding a note about this to the cautions area of my website.
I think any time you are taking heart medication, all other medications should only be taken with the advice of a doctor... I'm not sure if it would have helped in this case (most doctor's don't know much about SJW, other than "it works") but it's always a good idea. Thanks for posting your message.
[this message was edited by kelly on Sun 3 Jul 11:26]
Posts: 754 | | Registered: Thu 5 Oct 2000 21:48 |
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