"Z-Pak" May Raise Risk of Serious Cardiac Arrhythmias

The widely used antibiotic azithromycin (commonly referred to as “Z-Pak”) may raise a patient’s risk of serious cardiac arrhythmias, according to a new warning from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Azithromycin, used to treat infections of the ears, lungs, sinuses, skin, throat, and reproductive organs, may also interfere with the electrical activity of the heart. 

Those especially at risk are patients who already experience irregular heart rates, arrhythmias, the elderly, and those at risk for a heart condition.  Also at risk are patients with low blood levels of magnesium and potassium. 

Updates to the drug label’s Warnings and Precautions section relate the risk of QT interval prolongation and torsades de pointes, a rare heart rhythm abnormality.

“Health care professionals should consider the risk of fatal heart rhythms with azithromycin when considering treatment options for patients who are already at risk for cardiovascular events,” the FDA stated in their safety announcement. 

For more information, see the full FDA warning.  

–Michael Potts

References

Food and Drug Administration. FDA Drug Safety Communication: Azithromycin (Zithromax or Zmax) and the risk of potentially fatal heart rhythms. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Published March 12, 2013. Accessed March 13, 2013.