Treatments for atrial fibrillation (a-fib) certainly can be beneficial to those who suffer from the condition; however, with all of the controversy surrounding the side effects of Multaq (dronedarone), it’s time to start looking for alternatives. There’s just one problem: Even many of the alternatives may not be all that great. Take Amiodarone, for example.

Both Multaq and Amiodarone have side effects, as all drugs do. The difference here is that both of them seem capable of making the patient’s current heart condition worse — even fatal. Multaq has recently come under fire as it has been discovered that the drug can cause liver failure in some of its users. Most recently, a PALLAS clinical trial has shown that in trying to use Multaq as a treatment for permanent a-fib, patients started dying and experiencing abnormal heart rhythms. This caused the makers of Mutaq, Sanofi-Aventis, to halt the study.

Amiodarone is a generic a-fib drug treatment that can be potentially fatal as it causes some patients to develop serious conditions like congestive heart failure and bradycardia. However, the warning on drugs.com states, “CHF rarely requires drug discontinuation. Cardiac conduction abnormalities occur infrequently and are reversible on discontinuation of drug.”

Even the researchers from the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last year recommended Amiodarone over Multaq, stating in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that “it should be used only as a second- or third-line drug if all others fail.”

“The overall assessment is that dronedarone has only modest efficacy and no clear-cut safety advantage,” says Dr. Sanjay Kaul of Cedars-Sinai. Amiodarone, in contrast, has “a huge cost advantage. Multaq costs about $9 per day, and generic Amiodarone costs pennies. It’s cheap, so why would you want to use an expensive, ineffective alternative?”

If you have suffered from liver failure or other severe side effects after using Multaq, contact Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting drug injury cases and may be able to help you recover money for your injuries.