What is Cordarone?

Cordarone is a drug that helps treat life-threatening heart problems including ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.

Its generic name is amiodarone and it is sold under other brand names including Pacerone and Nexterone.

The drug is an anti-arrhythmia medication and is used for patients who do not respond to other medications. The drug is available as an oral tablet or as a solution for injection.

Is Cordarone safe?

Cordarone has been connected to multiple serious side effects, and because of its possible negative effects, the Food and Drug Administration have deemed it a “last resort” drug.

What are the side effects of Cordarone?

Cordarone has been connected to a range of side effects. Healthline reports that the more mild side effects of the drug include:

• nausea
• stomach pain
• vomiting
• fatigue
• constipation
• coordination problems
• headache
• decreased libido
• uncontrollable body movements
• unusual body movements
• tremor

These side effects of Cordarone may be mild and may go away in a few days or weeks. However, the drugs can also come with more serious side effects, which may be connected to more serious conditions.

Cordarone may cause allergic reactions, and may be linked to serious conditions including lung problems, vision problems, liver problems, heart problems, stomach problems, thyroid issues, nerve damage, serious skin reactions, and pain and swelling in the scrotum. 

How does Cordarone work?

Cordarone works differently from many anti-arrhythmic drugs on the market. The drug prevents abnormal heartbeats by controlling the contractions in the heart.

Very Well Health says the drug works on a cellular level, and is in two categories of anti-arhythmic drugs, because it acts as a beta blocker and a calcium blocker. Reportedly, it dilates blood vessels and blocks the thyroid hormone. 

Very Well Health goes on to explain that Cordarone is different from other cardiac drugs on the market because it is stored in the body’s tissues rather than the bloodstream.

Reportedly, this makes it more powerful than other drugs. According to Very Well Health, the drug is not fully effective in regulating heart rate until a patient’s tissues are saturated with the drug.

Are the side effects of Cordarone serious?

Reportedly, the fact that the drug is stored in the body’s tissues also may produce side effects in many organs of the body. The drug is slow-acting, so the drug’s side effects may take months or even years to develop.

Because Cordarone works as a thyroid blocker, it can cause hyper or hypothyroidism. Very Well Health says that thyroid problems are a common side effect of the drug, and stresses that as far as thyroid problems go, they can be very difficult to identify and treat.

The lung problems possibly associated with the drug can be very serious, reportedly lung toxicity can develop with Cordarone use and can be fatal.

MedlinePlus describes another serious side effect of the drug. Reportedly, the drug may cause a patient’s heart arrhythmia to get worse, or may cause a new one to develop. This may be concerning because the drug aims to treat irregular heart beats.