Amiodarone Lung Damage: Signs, Risks, and What to Do

When you take amiodarone, a powerful antiarrhythmic drug used to treat irregular heartbeats. Also known as Cordarone, it saves lives—but it can quietly damage your lungs over time. This isn’t a rare side effect. Up to 5% of people on long-term amiodarone develop pulmonary toxicity, a group of lung conditions caused by drug exposure, and it’s often mistaken for pneumonia or heart failure. The problem? Symptoms like shortness of breath, dry cough, and fatigue show up slowly. By the time they’re obvious, the damage may already be advanced.

Amiodarone stays in your body for months—even after you stop taking it. That’s why lung injury can show up years later. People on higher doses (over 400 mg/day) or those who’ve been taking it for more than two months are at the highest risk. Older adults and those with pre-existing lung conditions like COPD are especially vulnerable. Doctors monitor for this with chest X-rays, CT scans, and lung function tests, but many patients aren’t screened unless they start feeling sick. That’s a gap. You can’t wait for symptoms to get worse. If you’re on amiodarone and notice new breathing trouble, don’t assume it’s aging or being out of shape. Ask for a lung evaluation.

It’s not just about stopping the drug. Once drug-induced lung injury, a reaction where a medication triggers inflammation or scarring in the lungs is confirmed, corticosteroids like prednisone are often used to calm the inflammation. But even then, recovery isn’t guaranteed. Some people recover fully if caught early. Others are left with permanent scarring that affects their ability to walk, climb stairs, or even sleep. There’s no magic fix—only vigilance. The key is early detection. If you’ve been on amiodarone for more than six months, make sure your doctor checks your lungs at least once a year. No chest X-ray? No lung function test? Push for it. Your heart might be stable, but your lungs don’t have a backup plan.

What you’ll find below are real, detailed posts that break down exactly how amiodarone affects the lungs, who’s most at risk, how it’s diagnosed, and what alternatives exist when the risks outweigh the benefits. You’ll also see how other drugs like corticosteroids and NSAIDs can complicate things, and how to talk to your doctor about switching safely. This isn’t theoretical. These are stories from people who lived through it—and learned how to protect themselves.