Here’s What The Drug Maria Sharapova Was Taking Does To Your Body

Champion tennis player Maria Sharapova has admitted that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open for taking a drug that was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances in January.

But what does the drug, meldonium, actually do to the body?

Meldonium (also known as Mildronate) is an “anti-ischemic” drug, which means it is used to treat inadequate blood flow to the organs, especially the heart.

According to the Latvian pharmaceutical company Grindex, which manufactures the drug, it not only protects against tissue damage in patients with angina pectoris (chest pain caused by heart disease), chronic heart failure, and disorders of brain circulation, but it also improves physical capacity and mental function in both ischemic and healthy people.

Sharapova said she had been taking the drug since 2006 because ofseveral health concerns, including magnesium deficiency, an irregular EKG (a test of heart function), and diabetes, a condition she said runs in her family.

Some animal studies and small human studies suggest that meldonium, in combination with other drugs, may help treat diabetes. But others studies suggest the drug could increase the endurance performance of athletes by increasing oxygen uptake, which is why it was banned by anti-doping authorities, the Associated Press reports.

Meldonium is legal in Lithuania, but it is not approved for use in the US. Before it was banned, meldonium was popular among Russian athletes, according to AP reporter James Ellingworth.

Credit: Yahoo

Tennis star, Maria Sharapova Fails Dope Test

Maria Sharapova announced she failed a drug test at the Australian Open in a press conference Monday in Los Angeles.

 

Sharapova was informed by the International Tennis Federation that she tested positive for Meldonium, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances on Jan. 1, 2016.

 

Sharapova said she has legally been taking the drug for 10 years. Maria Sharapova Sharapova did not disclose what penalty she will face for the positive test. “I made a huge mistake,” Sharapova said. “I don’t want to end my career this way.”

 

The drug was added to WADA’s banned list as it showed “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance.”

 

Melodonium is a drug used clinically to treat angina, myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure.

 

Her parents were also in attendance.