Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova’s 10-year prescription of the drug meldonium which cost her a failed drugs test is not normal. Meldonium’s normal course of treatment is four to six weeks according to its Latvian manufacturer and is meant for people with chronic cardiovascular problems. Sports Fan reports: The five-time Grand Slam champion said on Monday she failed a doping test at the Australian Open in January for meldonium, which became a banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency code this year. The former No.1 said she had taken meldonium, a heart medicine which improves blood flow and is little-known in the US, for a decade following various health problems including regular sicknesses, early signs of diabetes and “irregular” results from echocardiography exams. “I was first given the substance back in 2006. I had several health issues going on at the time,” she said. Sharapova didn’t specify whether she had used it constantly since then. Meldonium was banned because it aids oxygen uptake and endurance, and several athletes in various international sports have already been caught using it since it was banned on January 1. Latvian company Grindeks, which manufactures meldonium, told The Associated Press that four to six weeks was [...]