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Heart-Health Supplements: A Safer Question List for People Taking Medicines

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The short answer: before adding a heart-health supplement, bring your health care provider a complete list of every medicine and supplement you take, the label of the product you are considering, and a few questions. The worksheet below helps you collect all three.

SterlingMedicalCenter.org is an independent editorial publication, not a medical provider, clinic, or healthcare practice. The “Medical Center” in our domain name reflects prior ownership history. We are not affiliated with Sterling Medical Center & Urgent Care or any other medical practice (see our Non-Affiliation Notice). Nothing here is medical advice or a recommendation for any product. See our Medical Disclaimer.

What to bring

  • Every medicine you take, prescription and over-the-counter, with dose and frequency.
  • Every supplement you take, including vitamins, minerals, herbs, powders, and teas.
  • The product you are considering: the bottle or a clear photo of the full label, with ingredients and amount per serving.
  • Health context: conditions, allergies, planned surgery, and pregnancy or nursing status.
  • Your questions, from the list below.

Medication-and-supplement conversation worksheet

Copy this into a notes app or print it. Read details from the label or pharmacy bottle rather than from memory, and add more entries as needed. This worksheet organizes information for a conversation. It does not tell you what to take.

Part 1: Medicines (prescription and over-the-counter)

  1. Medicine 1
    • Name on the label: ______
    • Dose and how often: ______
    • What it is for: ______
    • Who prescribed or suggested it: ______
  2. Medicine 2
    • Name on the label: ______
    • Dose and how often: ______
    • What it is for: ______
    • Who prescribed or suggested it: ______

Part 2: Supplements you already take

  1. Supplement 1
    • Product and brand: ______
    • Ingredients and amount per serving: ______
    • How much and how often you take it: ______
    • Why you take it: ______
    • Start date: ______
  2. Supplement 2
    • Product and brand: ______
    • Ingredients and amount per serving: ______
    • How much and how often you take it: ______
    • Why you take it: ______
    • Start date: ______

Part 3: The supplement you are considering

  • Product and brand: ______
  • Ingredients and amount per serving, from the label: ______
  • Directions on the label: ______
  • Why you are considering it: ______
  • Where the idea came from (clinician, friend, advertisement, article): ______

Part 4: Your health context

  • Conditions you are managing: ______
  • Allergies: ______
  • Planned surgery or procedures, with dates: ______
  • Pregnant, nursing, or trying to become pregnant: ______

Part 5: Questions to ask

  1. Could this supplement interact with any medicine or supplement on my list?
  2. Does anything about my health conditions or upcoming procedures make it a poor fit?
  3. What exactly should I take, how often, and for how long? When should this be reviewed?
  4. Which symptoms should make me stop and contact you?
  5. Does anything on the label look unclear, missing, or hard to verify?
  6. Should I tell my other clinicians and my pharmacy about this change?

Notes and answers: ______

Why the list matters

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says dietary supplements may interact with your medications or pose risks if you have certain medical problems or are going to have surgery. It gives one example: St. John's wort makes many medications less effective. NCCIH encourages you to talk with your health care providers about the supplements you use. NCCIH, Using Dietary Supplements Wisely.

  • Review before sale: NCCIH explains that, apart from certain new ingredients, the FDA is not authorized to review dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness before they are marketed. It can act against unsafe products only after they are on the market.
  • Labels can be unreliable: NCCIH reports that the FDA has found prescription drugs, including the anticoagulant warfarin, in products sold as dietary supplements. The words “standardized,” “verified,” or “certified” do not necessarily guarantee quality or consistency.
  • “Natural” is not a safety guarantee: NCCIH notes that kava supplements can cause liver disease.
  • Surgery: certain supplements may increase bleeding risk or affect your response to anesthesia. NCCIH advises telling your providers about all supplements as far in advance of an operation as possible.
  • Pregnancy, nursing, and children: many supplements have not been tested in these groups, according to NCCIH.
  • Label claims: supplement labels cannot claim to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent a disease. Statements about how a product affects the body's structure or function must carry an FDA disclaimer.

Who should talk with a professional first

As our Medical Disclaimer notes, talk with a qualified health care professional before starting any new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant, have a pre-existing medical condition, take prescription medications, have known allergies to ingredients, or are under 18. The same applies if you have surgery planned. If you have side effects from a supplement, NCCIH advises stopping it and contacting your health care provider. In a medical emergency, call 911 or your local emergency services.

Two helpful tools

Limits of this article

This article does not say which supplements are safe or effective for the heart, and it does not compare or rank products. The NCCIH page it draws on is general guidance about dietary supplements, not a heart-specific interaction list, and it was last updated in January 2019. Your health care provider can review current information for your specific medicines. This article contains no affiliate links. See our Editorial Standards for how this publication works.

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