Cordarone
Cordarone is a heart medicine used to treat severe irregular heartbeats when other treatments haven't worked or cannot be used, by calming the heart's electrical activity.
Form
tabletti
Strength
200 mg
Active Ingredient
Amiodarone hydrochloride
Manufacturer
Sanofi Oy
How to Use
Dosage
Initial dose: 200 mg three times a day for 8-10 days.
Method
Take the tablets with a meal to reduce stomach upset.
Important
Maintenance dose: The lowest effective dose, usually 100-400 mg daily, depending on your individual response.
Possible Side Effects
COMMON
- •Small, harmless deposits in the front part of your eye, which may cause blurred vision or halos.
- •Feeling sick (nausea), throwing up (vomiting), or changes in how things taste.
- •Increased sensitivity to sunlight (photosensitivity).
- •Changes in your liver enzyme levels (seen in blood tests).
- •Slow heart rate.
- •Underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) or overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism), which can sometimes be very serious.
- •Liver problems, sometimes leading to yellow skin/eyes (jaundice), or liver failure, which can sometimes be very serious.
- •Shaking (tremor), nightmares, or trouble sleeping.
- •Decreased sexual desire.
- •Breathing problems, such as lung inflammation, scarring in the lungs, or severe breathing difficulties, which can sometimes be very serious.
- •Skin turning blue-gray, which usually fades after you stop the medicine.
- •Constipation.
- •Itchy, red rash (eczema).
RARE
- •Irregular heartbeats or problems with the heart's electrical signals.
- •Nerve or muscle disease.
- •Dry mouth.
- •Abnormally slow heart rate (very rare and severe).
- •Changes in blood cell counts.
- •Optic nerve disease or inflammation, which can lead to blindness.
- •Chronic liver inflammation, which can sometimes be very serious.
- •Abnormal kidney function (seen in blood tests).
- •Problems with coordination, increased pressure inside the head, or headache.
- •Inflammation of the testicles or impotence.
- •Tightening of the airways (bronchospasm), especially in people with asthma or severe breathing problems. Severe acute lung problems (ARDS) immediately after surgery, which can sometimes be fatal.
- •Skin redness during radiation therapy.
- •Skin reactions or hair loss.
- •Inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis).
- •A condition where the body produces too much antidiuretic hormone (SIADH).
- •A specific type of irregular heartbeat called Torsades de pointes.
- •Swelling of the face, lips, or throat.
- •Bleeding in the lungs.
- •Hives (urticaria).
- •Small growths of inflammatory cells (granulomas).
- •More frequent infections due to low white blood cell count (neutropenia or agranulocytosis).
- •Sudden inflammation of the pancreas (acute pancreatitis).
- •Severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock).
- •Decreased appetite.
- •Unusual muscle movements, stiffness, shaking, and restlessness (Parkinsonism).
- •Distorted sense of smell (parosmia).
- •Confusion (delirium).
- •Seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there (hallucinations).
- •Life-threatening skin reactions with rash, blisters, peeling skin, and pain (e.g., Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, DRESS syndrome).
- •Lupus-like disease, where the immune system attacks different parts of the body, causing joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and sometimes a butterfly-shaped rash on the face.
- •Life-threatening complication after a heart transplant, where the transplanted heart stops working properly within 24 hours.
Important Warnings
- Do not use if you are allergic to amiodarone, iodine, or any other ingredient in this medicine.
- Do not use if your heart rate is very slow (unless you have a pacemaker) or if you have other severe heart rhythm problems.
- Do not use if you have thyroid gland problems.
- Do not use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, unless your doctor says it's absolutely necessary in special cases.
- Tell your doctor if you are taking medicine for Hepatitis C (sofosbuvir), as Cordarone can dangerously slow your heart.
Show 4 more warnings
- Always tell your anesthetist that you are taking Cordarone before any surgery.
- If you develop a severe rash, blisters, or skin peeling, contact your doctor immediately.
- Cordarone makes your skin more sensitive to sunlight. Protect your skin from the sun and use high-factor sunscreen.
- Do not use this medicine after the expiry date shown on the package.
Use in Elderly Patients
Category D
Avoid use in older adults. Start the treatment only in specialized care. Risk of QT prolongation. Elimination is very slow. Significant adverse effects include hypo- or hyperthyroidism, pulmonary changes, hepatic impairment and torsades de pointes ventricular tachycardia. Consider the numerous potential interactions. Avoid grapefruit. Remember blood tests to monitor safety. (updated 19.5.2025)