Zithromax May Trigger Cardiovascular Events

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013 warned that Azithromycin, a commonly-prescribed antibiotic, may trigger a potentially deadly irregular heart rhythm for some patients.

Azithromycin, sold as Zithromax, Zmax and often referred to as a “Z-Pak,” is prescribed to treat bacterial infections including bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections.

Some study findings show that Z-Pak pills may cause “abnormal changes in the heart’s electrical activity that could lead to a fatal heart rhythm.” But the risk is quite small. Patients with known risk factors such as “existing QT interval prolongation, low blood levels of potassium or magnesium, a slower than normal heart rate, or those who use certain drugs to treat abnormal heart rhythms, or arrhythmias face the greatest risk.”

“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 said in its March 2013 update. This notice was prompted by a study by Pfizer, manufacturer of Zithromax, that looked at risks to the heart’s electrical activity among Z-Pak users, as well as by another May 2012 study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The New England Journal of Medicine study, (paid for by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute), found that of every million patients who take a five-day course of Zithromax, there could be 47 extra heart-related deaths. This was as compared to 10 days of amoxicillin and other antibiotics.

“It’s a small risk. And if you look carefully, you’ll see that all antibiotics have serious risks,” study leader Wayne A. Ray, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, told WebMD. “When an equally effective alternative is available, it should be used for patients at high cardiac risk.”

File a Zithromax Class Action Lawsuit Today

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a Zithromax/Z-Pak injury, you have legal options. See if you qualify to join a free Zithromax class action lawsuit investigation and pursue compensation for you or your loved one’s injuries:

Oops! We could not locate your form.