Testing using rabbits and guinea pigs has flagged up the harmful effects of a drug once considered a potential treatment for Covid-19.
Scientists at Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, found that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) – a drug approved to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and promoted by US President Donald Trump – has serious effects on heart rhythms.
The findings, published in the journal Heart Rhythm, show that HCQ can trigger arrhythmias in animal hearts, by altering the timing of the electrical waves that control heartbeat.
Shahriar Iravanian, co-author of the paper, said these results “suggest that the drug should be considered a potentially harmful medication and its use in Covid-19 patients be restricted to clinical trial settings.”