You either love them or hate them, but you wouldn’t expect to be hospitalised after eating them… but that’s exactly what happened to one heart failure patient after eating too many Brussels sprouts last Christmas.

The reason was because this Christmas favourite green vegetables is bursting with vitamin K, a chemical the body uses to promote blood clotting, and too much is not good for patients who are taking anticoagulants (also known as blood thinners).

In the autumn of last year a patient, was fitted with a long term Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) after developing advanced heart failure.
Despite increasing the patient’s anticoagulants, doctors struggled to keep their blood thin during the weeks before Christmas and he was admitted back to the Golden Jubilee National Hospital with a low INR.
On investigation, doctors at the hospital figured out that the patient had been indulging in too many sprouts.
His INR rate stabilised after he stopped eating them.

Jill Young, Chief Executive of the Golden Jubilee National Hospital, added: “Whilst we think this is possibly the first-ever festive admission to hospital caused by the consumption of Brussels sprouts, we were delighted that we were able to stabilise his INR levels.”

So patients who are taking anticoagulants are generally advised not to eat too many green leafy vegetables, as they are full of vitamin K, which antagonise the action of blood thinners.

Source: Golden Jubilee National Hospital