The side effects of Amiodarone stem from its unusual properties as a medication. According to MyThyroid.com, amiodarone is an antiarrhythmic drug used to maintain the heart in a state of effectual pumping action. It does so by preventing it from beating at irregular speeds or in an irregular rhythm that fails to supply the body with oxygenated blood.

While there are many potential side effects of amiodarone and they are sometimes difficult to associate with the medication. The most well-known are lung toxicity, thyroid function problems, liver toxicity, visual disturbances, and skin reactions.

The side effects of amiodarone can arise at any time during treatment because of the way in which the drug is ‘loaded’. Most prescription medication relies upon a gradual build of the active ingredient in the bloodstream.

This is not the case with amiodarone. Instead, a patient started on this treatment is given large doses of up to 1600 mg for a week or two prior to reaching a maintenance phase in which he or she takes an eighth of this at the most. Sometimes, physicians are more comfortable doing this by admitting the patient to the hospital.

Why is Amiodarone Loaded At High Doses?

Amiodarone infiltrates the tissues of the body and is not effective against cardiac arrhythmia until it does so. Since all anatomical tissues carry the burden of this load, according to Verywellhealth.com, side effects can show up within all organ systems.

You might wonder, given this mechanism, how this loading stays within an effective range once smaller doses are used. Since the body typically excretes excess amounts of vitamins or drugs that aren’t metabolized, you would think this would be difficult.

In fact, amiodarone isn’t processed by the liver and kidneys effectively. It stays in the body for a very long time relying instead upon the natural process of shedding and replacing cells—the shed cells being the saturated ones that have come to the end of their life cycle.

What is Amiodarone Lung Toxicity?

One of the most serious side effects of amiodarone is lung toxicity. It can manifest itself as an acute, sudden-onset condition or as a gradual and chronic issue. In the former case, it is often referred to as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and it can bring on the sudden demise of the patient with its alarming obstruction of needed lung function.

ARDS produces damage to the tissues of the air sacs inside the lung. These tend to fill with fluid which impairs the gas exchange needed to provide oxygenated blood to the body. It is usually felt as extreme shortness of breath and it has a fifty percent survival rate.

According to Verywellhealth.com, in the latter case of lung toxicity revelation, gas exchange in the air sacs is also impaired by the presence of fluid as well as inflammatory cells, but it comes on slowly and can be mistaken for heart failure. This gradual presentation is known as interstitial pneumonia and symptoms include insidious fatigue and unexplained cough.

What Are Amiodarone Visual Disturbances?

On the less serious but still concerning side of adverse effects from amiodarone are visual disturbances. The most commonly reported disturbance is seeing colored rings around lights. This is known as the halo effect. Overall visual acuity is not inhibited by this experience and it appears related to deposits which can occur on the optic nerve, cornea, lens, and retina. It does not contraindicate continued treatment with the antiarrhythmic drug, unless it impinges upon the life of the patient.