Amiodarone can and does cause confusion in some elderly people as well as ataxia, tremor and dizziness and delirium.
Amiodarone is safe for elderly patients in most cases although some elderly people taking amiodarone are at a greater risk of developing an over active thyroid or under active thyroid.
Amiodarone is also toxic to the lungs and skin and pulmonary toxicity is more common in older people and it also increases threefold every 10 years of age in people over 60 years of age.
You cannot and should not skip a day or miss any doses of amiodarone or it could lead to side effects or make your condition worse.
It can also take 1 week to 3 weeks before your body responds to amiodarone.
You cannot stop taking amiodarone suddenly without talking to your doctor as you may need to be monitored closely or even hospitalized when you stop taking your amiodarone.
The amiodarone may even remain in your body for awhile after you stop taking it so your doctor will watch you carefully during the time you stop taking amiodarone.
The most common use of amiodarone is treatment of certain types of serious and sometimes fatal irregular heartbeats such as recurrent ventricular fibrillation, tachycardia.
Amiodarone is considered a last resort medication as amiodarone is a high risk medication because it has a risk of serious side effects which include, liver problems, worsening of your irregular heart rate and serious lung problems.
The serious side effects of amiodarone can be fatal and you will also be admitted to the hospital for your first dose of amiodarone to be monitored to see how the medication affects you.
The safer drug than amiodarone is Dronedarone which is a structurally modified version of amiodarone and is the antiarrhythmic drug that has shown the greatest efficacy at maintaining sinus rhythm in people with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
You can safely take amiodarone long term unless your doctor says otherwise as most people do take amiodarone long term and sometimes for life once they begin taking it.
Medications that should not be taken with amiodarone are beta-blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), propranolol (Inderal), metoprolol (Lopressor), or certain calcium channel blockers, such as verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Verelan, Covera-HS) or diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac), resulting in an excessively slow heart rate.
The serious side effects of amiodarone also known as Cordarone are general body swelling, numbness and tingling, dry eyes, cough, chest pain, pain, insomnia, heart failure, fever, depression, loss of appetite, decreased urine output, decreased awareness or responsiveness, bloating, fatigue, dark urine, constipation, blurred or double vision, tremors, nausea, stomach pain, dizziness and cracks in the skin.
Cordarone and amiodarone are the same medications under names.
Cordarone medication is used for treating of certain types of serious and sometimes fatal irregular heartbeats such as recurrent ventricular fibrillation, tachycardia.
Cordarone is used to restore a persons normal heart rhythm and maintain a regular and steady heartbeat.
Another name for Cordarone is amiodarone which is an antiarrhythmic drug that is also used for atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation.
Amiodarone is available under the following different brand names: Pacerone, Cordarone, and Nexterone.
Amiodarone or cordarone can cause changes in your heart rhythm, such as a condition called QT prolongation.
The drug amiodarone may also cause fainting or serious side effects in some people.
Contact your doctor right away if you have any symptoms of heart rhythm problems, such as a fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat when taking amiodarone.
Amiodarone can be taken with or without food but should be taken at the same way each time.
You should avoid consuming grapefruits and grapefruit juice while taking amiodarone.
Do not increase or decrease the amount of grapefruit products in your diet without first talking to your doctor.
While amiodarone is not approved for AF by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is a commonly prescribed off-label treatment due to the lack of equally effective treatment alternatives.
Because amiodarone is such a powerful drug, it's usually only given as a last resort and when other cardiovascular treatment options haven't worked.
This is largely due to its potential side effects that can have a significant impact on various major organs in the body, including the lungs, liver, and thyroid.