A review paper found several common heart medications have potential drug-drug interactions with Paxlovid, an antiviral commonly prescribed to patients with mild or moderate COVID-19, according to an Oct. 12 news release.
The review, published on Oct. 12 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, noted five types of heart medications that can have severe adverse effects when combined with Paxlovid.
The five medication types are:
- Antiarrhythmic agents
- Antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants
- Certain statins
- Ranolazine
- Immunosuppressive agents
"Awareness of the presence of drug-drug interactions of Paxlovid with common cardiovascular drugs is key. System-level interventions by integrating drug-drug interactions into electronic medical records could help avoid related adverse events," Sarju Ganatra, MD, director of the cardio-oncology program at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., and the senior author of the review, said in the release.