Cordarone is a drug prescribed to patients with arrhythmia. Cordarone is a drug that is administered by injection. Arrhythmia is a condition in which the heart beats irregularly. Almost 1 million patients are admitted to the hospital because of arrhythmias each year.
Arrhythmia is a condition in which the heart beats irregularly and can lead to fatal complications. Almost 1 million patients are admitted to the hospital because of arrhythmias each year. People who have suffered a heart attack or are healing from heart surgery are most likely to have arrhythmias, as are people who have coronary artery disease and electrolyte imbalances. However, irregular heartbeats can happen in healthy hearts as well, and many people can live healthy lives without medication.
- block sodium channels
- exert a noncompetitive antisympathetic action
- lengthen cardiac action potential
- block myocardial potassium channels
All of these actions together help to regulate the heartbeat and relieve some of the stress on the heart, which can produce a healthier heart.
However, Cordarone can cause several harmful side effects as well, including:
- hypotension, in which blood vessels get overly widened and blood pressure decreases dramatically
- bradycardia and AV block, which occurs when the heartbeat is too low or the electrical impulses that cause the heart to beat fail to work
- neonatal hypo- or hyperthyroidism, which occurs when there are irregularities and complications with the thyroid gland that can be fatal to the fetus
- coma
- liver failure
- proarrhythmia, in which the original arrhythmia symptoms are worsened by Cordarone
- early-onset pulmonary toxicity, in which the lungs are injured and in some cases have led to lung failure and death
- Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), in which lungs develop edemas and the patient has difficulty breathing. This illness can be fatal as well.
- pulmonary fibrosis, in which there is extensive scarring of the lungs to the point that the lungs can no longer deliver oxygen to the bloodstream
- anesthesia complications, because the blood pressure is too low to sufficiently keep the patient out of a coma
If you are injured because of Cordarone, contact a personal injury attorney immediately.
