This is the drug that got Maria Sharapova a two-year ban from tennis

Suspended Russian tennis champion Maria Sharapova said she made a "huge mistake" after failing a drug test by taking a banned performance-enhancing drug called meldonium.


The drug, known as meldonium or mildronate, is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, but it is prescribed elsewhere to help protect heart tissue by regulating metabolism.
It has also been used by neurological clinics to treat patients who have an abnormal lack of energy.

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Meldonium recently come to the attention of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which started monitoring the use of the drug by athletes in 2015 and banned it outright beginning this year.
Sharapova's drug sample was collected on January 26.

This is how meldonium can help an athlete?

The drug "demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system functions," according to a study last year in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis.

Meldonium is among a class of banned drugs called hormone and metabolic modulators that account for about 5% of doping in sports, according to a 2014 study by the international doping agency.

Side effects can include allergic reactions, indigestion, increased heart rate and changes in blood pressure, according to the drug's prescribing label.

The BBC reports that she will appeal the 2-year ban.