← Return to My Dr wants to switch me to a new medication - Entresto

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@har1old

I am a 72 year old male and have a Ef of 25 diagnosed as heart failure. It has remained at 25 for about 10 years . I do not have a defibrilator and dont want one. I have been taking carvedilol 2 times a day and warfarin and Losartin for years. My doctor retired and the new cardiologist wants to switch me to Entrestol 49 mg and she does not want to raise it to the recommended 98mg after a few weeks. She wants me to remain on 49 mg permanently and take me off Losartin and replace it with Farxiga. So I would be on Warfarin and Entresto and Farxiga and Carvedilol. I am concerned about this switch as it seems to be three blood thinner meds and a blood pressuring lowering drug and I am concerned about the interaction between these 4 drugs. Farziga and Entrestol are very expensive but that is not my concern. I want to know if this combination of Farxiga and carvedilol and Entresto and Warfarin is safe. This new doctor says it is okay.

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Replies to "I am a 72 year old male and have a Ef of 25 diagnosed as heart..."

I’m not a dr. But on meds for heart failure etc. so I understand your concern. I can only suggest you talk to a Pharmacist about these medications. That’s my go to. It may be helpful to you. Good luck.

My sister had issues with her heart for the first time in her life (she is 72 years old) due to medication that was used to treat a fungal lung infection she developed while in hospital. The cardiologist prescribed Entresto and then also prescribed Farxiga. When my sister realized that Farxiga is a medication for DIABETES (which my sister does NOT have), she asked why he was prescribing it for her. His answer was that one of the possible side effects of Entresto is a rise in glucose levels, so doctors prescribe Farxiga to counteract that possible effect. My sister refused to take Farxiga unless and until there was a rise in her glucose levels. (In other words, just as it was possible she MIGHT incur increased glucose levels, it was possible that she MIGHT NOT incur high levels.)
By the way, Entresto has other possible side effects: It can also cause HYPOtension (low blood pressure) and can also cause high Potassium levels (high potassium levels can adversely affect your kidneys). You should discuss all of this with your doctor and ask her to please explain why she wants to make such radical changes. (JUST A NOTE: I suggest to anyone who is on multiple medications that they go to the DRUGS dot com (.com) website and run the "Drug Interaction Checker". You input the names of medications you are taking and it will check interactions with multiple drugs, vaccines, supplements, alcohol, food and diseases. I do that any time my doctor wants to add a new medication. It's important because not only can prescription drugs interact with other prescription drugs, but they can also interact with supplements, food, etc.)