procainamide - oral, Procanbid, Pronestyl

1. Heart Disease Slideshow Pictures
2. Medical Illustrations of the Heart Image Collection
3. Take the Heart Disease Quiz!

GENERIC NAME: PROCAINAMIDE - ORAL (pro-CANE-uh-mide)

BRAND NAME(S): Procanbid, Pronestyl

Warning | Medication Uses | How To Use | Side Effects | Precautions | Drug Interactions | Overdose | Notes | Missed Dose | Storage

WARNING: Prolonged use of procainamide may frequently cause the body to make certain immune molecules (antinuclear antibodies) that may make you ill. Contact your doctor immediately if you develop symptoms of this type of immune illness (e.g., skin sores/hives, muscle/joint aches, fever, chills, painful breathing). Your doctor may be monitoring you with a blood test for these antibodies, and if you have them, your doctor will decide if continued use of this medication is right for you.

Although this medication and others like it are used to treat certain kinds of abnormal heartbeats, they may rarely cause serious (sometimes fatal) irregular heartbeats. Therefore, procainamide should be used carefully in selected patients only (see Uses section). Consult your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Procainamide can rarely cause severe changes in blood cell counts, including white cells, red cells, and blood clotting cells (platelets). Notify your doctor immediately if you develop signs of a serious infection (e.g., fever, severe chills, persistent sore throat, muscle/joint aches), signs of anemia (e.g., tiredness, pale skin, faster heartbeat), or easy bruising/bleeding.

Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit the FDA MedWatch website or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Need help identifying pills and medications? Use the pill identifier tool on RxList.