Heart Disease – Antibiotics Risks

Transcript

Let’s talk about antibiotics and the heart. We love antibiotics. They take care of infection. They’re very widely used medications. However, be careful. Not all antibiotics are without risk. Antibiotics do have risks on the heart. Certain antibiotics can change the electrical properties of the heart and can cause arrhythmias and even sudden cardiac arrest and death. If you are going to be on an antibiotic, make sure you’ve weighed the risks and benefits. Make sure it’s absolutely necessary and discuss with your doctor if it’s a risk at your heart. If you have a history of arrhythmias or heart failure or heart disease or coronary artery disease, please look at the type of antibiotics you’re using. Look at the risk and the benefit because antibiotics have side effects and some of them are contraindicated in heart disease.