If you have diabetes and also suffer from heart failure, there are certain medications that you should not take. It may sound strange but certain medications like Avandia® (rosiglitazone) and Actos® (pioglitazone) can make heart failure worse if you already have it. The same is true for combination products that also contain these ingredients like Duetact®, Actosplus Met®, Avandaryl®, and Avandamet®. Up until now, doctors avoided prescribing these medications only in those patients with severe heart failure. Now, evidence is mounting that these medications can make even mild heart failure worse.

Patients who take these meds who have mild, moderate or severe heart failure have a higher risk of chest pain, a higher risk of heart attack and a higher risk of hospitalization for heart-related problems.

So how do these medications make heart failure worse? These medications can have a side effect of causing swelling and fluid retention. Extra fluid in the body makes it more difficult for the heart to work efficiently, especially if you have heart failure.

Heart failure goes by many different names these days. If your doctor has diagnosed you with 'heart failure', 'congestive heart failure' (CHF), or 'cardiomyopathy' and you are taking one of the medications above, make sure to discuss with him/her the pros and cons of taking the medication. It may be that these medications are still the best choice for certain patients and more monitoring of the heart failure may just be required. If this situation pertains to you and your doctor chooses to leave you on the medications, tell your doctor if you have weight gain, swelling or increasing shortness of breath.

Author: Christi Larson, Pharm. D.