Amiodarone
PaceronePubChem CID 2157 · 3D model
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Blocks several of the heart muscle's electrical channels at once, most notably potassium channels, which lengthens the heart's electrical reset time between beats and calms down dangerous, fast, chaotic heart rhythms — though this same power over the heart's electrical system comes with a real risk of serious side effects to the lungs, liver, and heart itself.
How it works
Amiodarone works on the heart's electrical system in several ways at once. Its main effect is to stretch out the 'reset' period the heart's cells need between beats, which makes it much harder for the fast, chaotic electrical signals behind dangerous heart rhythms to sustain themselves. Because it acts on so many parts of the heart's wiring simultaneously, it's one of the most powerful antiarrhythmic drugs available — but that same broad action is also why it carries a boxed warning: it can cause serious, sometimes life-threatening damage to the lungs and liver, and can itself trigger new dangerous heart rhythms, so doctors reserve it for serious cases and watch patients closely.
What it’s used for
Amiodarone is reserved for serious, life-threatening irregular heart rhythms — specifically ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia that keep coming back — after other treatments have been tried. It carries a boxed warning, the FDA's strongest safety alert, because it can damage the lungs and liver and, ironically, can sometimes cause new dangerous heart rhythms of its own. Because of these risks, it's meant only for serious cases, started under close medical supervision, with regular monitoring for lung, liver, and heart problems while a patient is taking it.
- Mechanism
- Class III antiarrhythmic, blocks potassium channels to prolong cardiac repolarization
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Cardiovascular