Patient/caregiver was educated on precautions to be exercised while taking ryanodex as follows:
- Ryanodex intake can rarely lead to depression of respiratory center in the brain, exacerbation of SOB, and difficulty breathing. Low oxygen levels in the body with elevated carbon-di-oxide levels can contribute to altered levels of consciousness, sedation, slow & shallow breathing, severely compromised endurance and exercise tolerance, extreme fatigue, and development of seizures. Severe cases might also lead to emergency situations, such as, respiratory arrest and can result in serious debility and death. This risk with ryanodex can be even high when it is taken along with any other products and medications causing central nervous and respiratory depression, such as, alcohol, opioid pain medications, antidepressants, antianxiety medications, and sedatives. Ryanodex could either be avoided for a safer alternative or used with extra caution in individuals with history of breathing issues, such as, asthma and COPD, to prevent development of any episodes of severe SOB and respiratory arrest.
- Ryanodex use can also result in fast and pounding heartbeat. Individuals with history of cardiac arrhythmias can be at increased risk for precipitation of arrhythmic episodes with ryanodex use and must be increasingly watchful to report worsening symptoms of arrhythmias, such as, chest pain, low blood pressure, confusion, dizziness, increasing shortness of breath, and worsening fatigue. Hypotension and irregular heartbeat, secondary to ryanodex intake, can contribute to the confusion and dizziness, thus significantly increasing the risk for fall and accidents. Ryanodex could best be avoided for a safer alternative or used with extra caution in individuals with history of life-threatening arrhythmias.
- Chronic use of ryanodex can induce inflammation of the pericardium, a membrane surrounding the heart, resulting in swelling of the pericardium, palpitations of heart, and episodes of chest pain. Secondary to inflammation of the pericardium, fluid gets built up around the heart. In severe cases of pericarditis, the fluid accumulation around the heart can exert pressure on the heart from all sides and prevent the heart from filling with blood to capacity when the heart relaxes. Low filling volume inside the heart during relaxation results in less volume of blood pumped out of the heart when the heart contracts. This contributes to less blood supply to vital organs, such as, brain, liver, and lungs, eventually compromising their function. So, ryanodex use could be avoided for a safer alternative in individuals with history of compromised cardiac function or used with extra caution with close watch for signs and symptoms of worsening heart failure, such as, progressively falling blood pressure numbers, worsening confusion & dizziness, deteriorating shortness of breath, and increasing fatigue & weakness.
