 | Joseph P. Galichia, MD is the founder and Medical Director of the Galichia Medical Group, PA. He is an internationally recognized pioneer in the field of interventional cardiology. In the 70's, Dr. Galichia studied in Zurich, Switzerland with the inventors of the balloon angioplasty technique for treating heart disease. As a result of his experience, he was able to bring this historic technique back to the United States where he was one of the first physicians to perform coronary angioplasty here. A noted medical spokesman, he appears on a weekly Newstalk segment on KWCH Channel 12 and has a weekly syndicated radio talk show on KNSS 1330 AM every Saturday live from 11:00 am to noon. Dr. Galichia may be contacted by sending an e-mail to service@galichia.com |
Health & Medicine
2004-03-01 14:01:00
About appetite suppressants
ANSWER: Many appetite suppressants contain Ephedra or amphetamine like drugs, which cause tachycardia or rapid heart beating. The compound Ephedra has recently been associated with dangerous cardiac arrhythmias, which could lead to sudden death. Anyone who has a tendency to this kind of rhythm problems, in my opinion, should not take these products. There is a great deal of concern being raised in the medical community today about the safety of these agents in general. Many physicians feel that there is no safe usage of appetite suppressants in anyone. You are complaining of accentuation of the symptom of a rapid heart beat during your workouts. Certainly, your heart rate should rise during heavy exercise. The presence of these types of stimulants in your body may indeed lower your exercise tolerance by causing your heart rate to elevate too quickly. The effect of these drugs should go away in 24 hours. The fact that you continue to have this exercise intolerance and the feeling that your heart is beating too rapidly in the absence of taking the appetite suppressant, gives me a cause for concern. There may be an underlying heart abnormality or other metabolic or blood abnormality that may be causing these symptoms. For that reason, I recommend a good physical examination, some blood tests, including a blood count and a thyroid test. Also, a treadmill EKG may help to better understand these problems. Discuss your concern with your family doctor and ask for his or her suggestions regarding other ways to achieve weight loss and establish a good exercise program.
