Does Drinking Apple Cider Vinegar Interfere With Metoprolol?

Apple cider vinegar has numerous uses as a folk remedy. Some of its claimed benefits include lowering high cholesterol and high blood pressure, treating upset stomach and relieving leg pain. Apple cider vinegar also is promoted as a weight-loss agent, and there's an apple cider vinegar diet which requires drinking this substance every day. No health benefits have been definitively connected with apple cider vinegar, cautions eMedTV.

Metoprolol is classified as a beta blocker. These types of medications block the effects of epinephrine, a hormone also called adrenaline. Epinephrine stimulates the heart and constricts blood vessels. Metoprolol counteracts these effects, allowing the heart to beat less rapidly and with less force, and helping to improve blood flow. In addition to reducing high blood pressure, metoprolol is beneficial for treating a heart attack and preventing another attack, regulating arrhythmia and treating angina. It also prevents migraines in some people and relieves symptoms of an overactive thyroid gland before thyroid medication takes effect.

Although apple cider vinegar is generally safe in amounts used in cooking, it is unclear whether drinking large amounts of apple cider regularly is safe, according to eMedTV. While apple cider vinegar interacts with a few types of medications, authoritative websites do not indicate that it interferes with metoprolol. Medicinal doses may cause low potassium blood levels, or hypokalemia. This may be dangerous if you take digoxin, a medication that treats congestive heart failure and irregular heartbeat. The ability of apple cider vinegar to reduce potassium in the blood also may make drinking it inadvisable if you take insulin or certain diuretics.

Metoprolol interacts with digoxin and diuretics as well. It also interacts in various ways with numerous other substances such as cold medications, diet pills, certain antidepressant drugs, medications to treat mental illness and drugs that treat breathing disorders. Consult your doctor before combining any supplements, nonprescription medications or prescription drugs with metoprolol.