Print this page
Email a friendAntibiotic Can Trigger Abnormal Heart Rhythm
Newspaper Columns, Pharmacy Q&A September 5, 2008
Q. I was given erythromycin for an infection and immediately started having heart palpitations and shortness of breath. My doctor didn't believe that the drug could have caused the problem, so he gave me something generic but still in the same family of erythromycin. I had the same reaction. A couple of years ago I found something on the AMA website stating that erythromycin had been responsible for several cardiac deaths!
A. You may be more susceptible than average to heart rhythm disturbances caused by certain medications. People with “long QT intervals” may react to erythromycin and many other drugs in a dangerous way. The long QT interval shows up on an electrocardiogram, so you may need to be tested. There are lists of drugs that might be dangerous if you do have long QT interval at www.qtdrugs.org.
Tags: arrhythmia, erythromycin, QT interval, torsades de pointes
Bookmark/Share: 
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctorate in medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Their syndicated radio show can be heard on public radio. In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of this newspaper or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
© 2008 King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Reader Comments
I was given Erythromycin which resulted in severe stomach pains causing me to pass out several times. I was taken to the hospital and my doctor said I was the 2nd of his patients to have that kind of reaction to this particular drug. scary.
Posted by: JRC | September 7, 2008 4:31 PM