Plavix is a medication that prevents blood clots by reducing the number of platelets that can stick to one another. In this way, it lowers the number of strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular deaths. Plavix interacts with many herbs and several medications, but no interactions with balsamic vinegar have been reported.
Plavix
The generic name for Plavix is clopidogrel. It is an antiplatelet medication that is prescribed to prevent blood clots from developing so you have less of a risk of having a heart attack or stroke. It lowers the risk, in fact, by 8.7 percent compared to aspirin, writes Jeffrey Weitz, M.D., executive director of the Thrombosis and Atherosclerosis Research Institute in “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine.” However, a physician may recommend both Plavix and aspirin if you have a certain type of heart disease or need a metal tube called a stent in an artery of the heart.
How Plavix Works
Platelets, also called thrombocytes, are blood cells that help the blood clot by sticking to each other and to the damaged inside wall of a blood vessel. Plavix works because it blocks the ADP receptor that is on the membrane of platelets. Receptors are proteins that wait for instructions on what to do. The ADP receptors are proteins that help activate platelets so they can change their shape in order to be able to stick to one another, as explained in “Williams Hematology” by Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D. Plavix interacts with many medications and herbs, but not with balsamic vinegar.
Interactions
The “Drug Monograph” lists numerous herbs you should not take when you take Plavix because all of these herbs are also antiplatelets. They include alfalfa, dong quai, guggul, bromelain, garlic, prickly ash, cat's claw, ginger, sweet clover, bladderwrack, feverfew, licorice, coleus, grape seed, SAMe, cordyceps, green tea, chamomile, ginkgo biloba, reishi, evening primrose oil, horse chestnut seed, white willow, fenugreek, horseradish, anise, ginseng, turmeric, bilberry and red clover. Many medications interact with Plavix including heart medications called calcium-channel blockers, an anticoagulant medication named warfarin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, clarithromycin and erythromycin antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors prescribed for reflux and ulcers, and pentosan used to treat certain bladder infections. The “Drug Monograph” does not list any interactions between balsamic vinegar and Plavix.
Plavix Resistance
While Plavix does not interact with balsamic vinegar, but does interact with many medications and herbs, some people are resistant to this antiplatelet medication. For Plavix to be effective, it must be broken down to an active substance; this takes place in the liver with the help of a protein called CYP2C19, as described by David Slattery, M.D., in “Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine.” People resistant to Plavix have a decreased amount of CYP2C19, which can be determined through testing. They will need to take a higher dose, and clinical trials are currently being held to determine the best dosage.
References
- Access Medicine: Drug Monograph
- Basic & Clinical Pharmacology; Bertram Katzung, M.D., Ph.D. et al.
- Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics; Laurence Brunton, Ph.D.
- Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine; Dan Longo, M.D. et al.
- Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine; Judith Tintinalli, M.D. et al.
- Williams Hematology; Marshall Lichtman, M.D. et al.
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