Maintaining Good Health: Is CBD Oil Risky for Someone on Heart Medication?

CBD has seen a massive surge in popularity in recent years, primarily due to its various therapeutic uses. Whereas people used to take cannabis oil in the UK and elsewhere for enjoyment, CBD oil is now being used entirely for its effects on your health.

However, when you first start using a new medication, it is incredibly important to make sure that it doesn’t conflict with anything. While shopping for your CBD oil at stores like Provacan, it is essential to know what you are getting into.

One of the significant conditions that tend to be disrupted by other drugs is heart medication. So, does CBD oil have any risks for someone taking heart medication?

Why Would CBD Oil Affect Medication?

For those new to the CBD world, or even those familiar with CBD oil and assume it as entirely safe, it might seem strange to think CBD oil could be a danger.

CBD oil in and of itself isn’t dangerous, per se; it’s how it interacts with other medications in the body that is the problem.

When CBD oil is first broken down in the liver, it undergoes a process whereby it is changed chemically and made easier for the body to use. This is essentially how all drugs get treated in the body, but CBD oil does something a bit different.

Within the liver, CBD acts as an inhibitor of CYP3A4. This is one of the most important metabolizers in the liver and is what breaks down the drugs in your system. Well over one-quarter of all commonly taken drugs in the world are broken down by CYP3A4.

As discussed in many studies, such as this critical study by Kerstin Iffland and Franjo Grotenhermen for the Journal of Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, CBD can sometimes work against your medication.

By effectively shutting off the primary enzyme CYP3A4, other medications do not get broken down as you expect them to. Instead, they sit in your liver, waiting until the body creates more CYP3A4. This means that, if you were taking life-saving medication, it might not have any effect on you whatsoever.

This is also a problem for drugs that have adverse effects if you take too much. If CYP3A4 gets shut down by CBD oil, then when you next take a dose of your medicine, you might wind up with a double dose in your system.

Is There Any Risk for Those on Heart Medication?

The vital thing to note about CBD oil’s ability to counteract the critical enzymes in your body is that it is quite a mild effect. This same effect occurs if you ingest grapefruit. However, for those who take serious medication that drastically alters your heart, you need to be careful.

There are a few heart conditions that are especially vulnerable to this kind of problem, with the main one being anything to do with low blood pressure. If you take medication to raise your blood pressure, but also take CBD oil at the same time, you might notice a few side effects.

For starters, the medication will likely have a delayed response due to the CBD in your liver, giving you an effective double dose later on in the day when you take your next dose.

This issue is also compounded by the CBD oil itself because CBD oil actually lowers blood pressure slightly on its own. This means that your blood pressure might go down, then very drastically go up, all in the space of one day.

So Is It Worth It?

When it comes to heart issues, everyone tends to be a great deal more overprotective and frightened than with other conditions. This is for a good reason, as the heart is easily the most essential organ; without it, you won’t last long.

Despite the numerous CBD oil benefits, the fact remains that, if you do suffer from some kind of serious heart condition, you should probably not be taking CBD oil. Or, if you do want to keep taking CBD oil, make sure that you take it well after you receive your regular dose of heart medication.

For the best results, speak to your doctor – they will be able to advise you whether or not it is safe to do so.