According to recent studies, reported Levaquin side effects may include life-threatening damage to the aorta. These aortic injuries are said to be two to three times more likely to occur in patients taking Levaquin or other fluoroquinolone drugs.

Other Levaquin side effects reportedly include an aortic dissection, known to be a tear in the aorta, and an aortic aneurysm or a bulge in the aorta. The aorta is the body’s blood vessel that pumps blood out of the heart.

There are more than 20 million prescription medications for Levaquin or other fluoroquinolone antibiotics being written each year to treat infections for bacteria. However, despite the increased risk for these developments, warnings are still not being placed on the drugs’ labels.

Levaquin Side Effects

There have been many studies that have reported a risk of dangerous Levaquin side effects, including its dangerous effects on the aorta. Two published studies were released in 2015 that emphasized the association or link between collagen damage and fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Levaquin.

Levaquin side effects that include collagen breakdown may cause aortic tissue damage that leads to further complications such as an aortic aneurysm and an aortic tear.

The aorta is a critical and important part of the body as it carries out blood to the rest of the body. Additionally, like all vessels of the body, it is made up of several different layers. When the inner layer of the aorta is torn, this is known as an aortic dissection.

An aortic aneurysm in comparison is an enlargement or bulging of the aorta. It most commonly forms in the abdomen of the aorta, although it can form in any section of the blood vessel. While an aortic aneurysm in the abdomen is known as an abdominal aortic aneurysm, one in the upper body is known as a thoracic aortic aneurysm.

In fact, although Levaquin and other fluoroquinolones have been previously linked to tendon ruptures, additional studies were conducted to test if collagen associated disorders were linked to the medication.

Researchers reported evidence of other increased and severe collagen-associated disorders. They also discovered that just as how the medication weakens the body’s tendons, it also weakens the walls of the aorta.

Two published November 2015 studies affirmed this, published in the BMJ open and the JAMA Internal Medicine. What these studies discovered was that there is an increased chance, between 124 percent and 143 percent, of developing or suffering from an aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection. There is also said to be a 48 percent increased risk for developing either of these side effects in past users.

Fluoroquinolones: What Are They?

Fluoroquinolones are a wide spectrum of antibiotic medications that treat infections such as urinary tract infections and respiratory infections. Medications, in addition to Levaquin, include Cipro, Floxin, Factive, Avelox, and Noroxin.

In addition to the treatment for these types of infections, they may also treat conditions such as pneumonia, bacterial bronchitis, septicemia, sinusitis, and intra-abdominal infections. Other conditions also include bacterial gastroenteritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, gynecological infections, typhoid fever, soft tissue and skin infections, and others.