Amiodarone is a medication that can help people who suffer from serious heart problems that cause abnormal beat patterns. Many different drugs can potentially cause amiodarone interactions, which range from mild to serious. Certain antibiotics, drugs for blood pressure control and antidepressants are all common causes of adverse amiodarone interactions, among others.
Drug interactions are important factors in how two or more drugs affect the body. A patient who takes amiodarone along with other medicines, and even some herbs or vitamins, should inform his or her doctor of the other substances prior to using the medicine, as some amiodarone interactions could be potentially serious. The other medications may need to be stopped or replaced with alternatives.
Any drug that affects the rhythm of the heart can produce unwanted amiodarone interactions. This is because the action of amiodarone in the body is to relax certain muscles in the heart than can produce abnormal rhythms when overexcited. The drugs that can potentially affect heartbeat are not restricted to medicines that are designed to alter heartbeat, such as dofetilide or procainamide. Some antibiotics, such as erythromycin, can also produce unwanted effects on heart rhythm.
Antibacterial or antifungal drugs like rifampin and itraconazole may not alter heartbeat, but may prevent the body from using and removing amiodarone in a normal manner. As the drug dosage is based on the normal rate of excretion of the body, the levels of the drug can therefore be altered to an undesirable concentration. The patient may not get an effective dose of the drug, or may absorb too much effect from the drug as a result.
Sometimes it is not other drugs that interfere with amiodarone, but rather amiodarone that interferes with other drugs. It can reduce the rate of excretion of drugs such as those that lower blood pressure, like statin medications. People who take medicines against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) can also suffer effects from the slowing action of amiodarone. Antidepressant substances like St. John's Wort herb may also be affected.
As of 2011, more than 600 medicines have been found to interact in undesirable ways with amiodarone. This medication alone is also not free from side effects, but as the drug is potentially life-saving, the common side effects are acceptable to many patients. Many people taking the drug experience unwanted effects, some of which are mild and some of which are serious. These range from nausea to unco-ordinated muscles and liver problems.
