Mexiletine
Brand names
- Alti-Mexiletine
- Mexitil
- Novo-Mexiletine
Usage
To treat irregular heartbeats
(cardiac arrhythmias).
How it works
Mexiletine slows nerve
impulses in the heart and
makes heart tissue less sensitive to nerve impulses, thus
stabilizing heartbeat.
Side effects
- Serious
- Chest pain, rapid or irregular heartbeat, shortness of
breath, seizures, unusual bleeding or
bruising,
fever
or chills.
- Common
- Dizziness or lightheadedness;
nausea, vomiting, or
abdominal pain; heartburn; nervousness; unsteadiness or difficulty
in walking; trembling, or shaking of hands.
- Less common
- Confusion, blurred vision,
constipation or
diarrhea,
headache,
numbness or tingling of hands or toes, ringing
in ears, skin rash, slurred speech, difficulty sleeping,
unusual fatigue or weakness.
Possible interactions
- Other medicaments:
Mexiletine may increase the effects of:
- antihypertensive medicaments and cause excessive lowering of
blood pressure.
- beta-blocker medicaments.
- disopyramide (Norpace).
- lidocaine (various).
- quinidine (Quinaglute, various).
- theophylline (Theo-Dur, others), leading to theophylline toxicity and
seizures.
Mexiletine taken concurrently with:
- amiodarone (Cordarone) may lead to abnormal heartbeat or rhythm.
- medicaments that inhibit or are removed by CYP 2D6 (talk to your doctor) may
increase mexiletine effects.
- ritonavir (Norvir) and perhaps other protease inhibitors
may lead to toxicity.
The following medicaments may decrease the effects of mexiletine:
- phenytoin (Dilantin, etc.) or fosphenytoin (Cerebyx).
- rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane).
- Herbal medicines or minerals:
- Using St. John's wort,
ma huang, or kola
while taking this medicine may result in unacceptable heart stimulation.
Belladonna,
henbane, scopolia, pheasant's eye extract or
lily-of-the-valley or
squill powdered extracts should not be taken if you have abnormal heart
rhythms.
- Beverages:
- Caffeine may have an effect on heart rate and may not be desirable.
- Alcohol:
- Alcohol can increase the blood pressure lowering effects
of this medicament.
- Tobacco smoking:
- Nicotine irritates the heart, reducing medicament effectiveness.
- Occurrence of unrelated illness:
- Vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration can affect this
medicament's action adversely. Report such developments promptly.
- Discontinuation:
- Should not be stopped abruptly after long-term use. Ask your
doctor about slowly reducing the dose.
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