Amlodipine

Amlodipine is an antihypertensive medicine that helps treat high blood pressure (hypertension). You can take amlodipine with other medicines that help control your blood pressure too.

Amlodipine is also used to treat a form of chest pain called angina, where the heart cannot get enough oxygen. Angina can be caused by coronary artery disease, where you have damaged the blood vessels of your heart. Damage can be caused by high levels of cholesterol in your blood.

You normally take amlodipine once a day, but your doctor may give you different instructions on how to take it. The dose of amlodipine you need to take will also depend on whether you’re already taking other medicines to lower your blood pressure.

For adults, the usual starting dose is 1 tablet of amlodipine 5mg each day. This can be increased to 10mg each day if the 5mg dose is not working well to lower your blood pressure.

Your doctor may suggest that you take 1 tablet of amlodipine 10mg each day, or 1 tablet of 5mg amlodipine twice a day.

If amlodipine 5mg tablets are too strong for you, your doctor might advise you to take half a tablet (2.5mg) each day or half a tablet twice a day.

When you take an amlodipine tablet, you should have it with a glass of water at the same time each day.

Do not take amlodipine with grapefruit juice, because this can affect how the medicine works and make you feel unwell.

Amlodipine works to treat high blood pressure by relaxing your blood vessels. This allows more blood to flow to your heart, so more oxygen to reach the heart muscle.

As a calcium channel blocker, amlodipine also works by reducing the amount of calcium entering the cells of your heart and blood vessels. This widens your blood vessels and leads to lower blood pressure over time.

Amlodipine is effective at gently reducing your blood pressure. It starts to work straight away, but it may take a couple of weeks for the full effect.

For the treatment of high blood pressure, you should have regular blood pressure check-ups with your doctor to see if amlodipine is working. You may not feel any different when you start taking amlodipine. This is because high blood pressure often does not cause symptoms on its own, but can have long term damaging effects on your health if left untreated.

For the treatment of angina, amlodipine will not get rid of chest pain straight away. It may take a couple of weeks for the pain to decrease and go away.

Sometimes heart disease can cause high blood pressure, so you may need to take other medicines at the same time as amlodipine for effective treatment.

Common side effects of amlodipine include:

• oedema (fluid retention)
• headache
• dizziness
• sleepiness
• palpitations (pounding heart beat)
• flushing
• abdominal pain
• nausea
• diarrhoea
• constipation
• indigestion
• tiredness
• weakness
• visual disturbances
• muscle cramps
• swelling ankles

Uncommon side effects of amlodipine:

• mood changes such as anxiety, depression
• sleeplessness
• trembling
• taste changes
• fainting
• numbness or tingling sensation in your limbs
• ear ringing
• low blood pressure (hypotension)
• sneezing and running nose
• cough
• dry mouth
• vomiting
• hair loss
• changes to the skin, such as itching, red patches, discolouration
• disturbances when passing urine
• pain, such as in your joints or back
• weight changes

For a full list of the possible side effects of amlodipine, including the very rare side effects, please read the patient information leaflet that comes with your amlodipine tablets. If you experience any side effects when taking amlodipine, contact your doctor straight away.

You can take amlodipine if you have high blood pressure and you are not allergic to it.

Do not take amlodipine, unless advised by your doctor, if you:

• are allergic to any other calcium channel blockers
• have low blood pressure (hypotension)
• have a condition where your aortic heart valve narrows (aortic stenosis)
• have a condition where your heart does not supply enough blood to the body (cardiogenic shock)
• have heart failure or have had a heart attack
• take certain other medications (see below)
• have had an adverse effect to amlodipine in the past

Speak to your doctor before taking amlodipine if you:

• are pregnant
• are breastfeeding
• have of have had a heart attack or heart failure
• have had a severe increase in blood pressure
• have or have had liver disease
• are elderly

If you have an allergic reaction to amlodipine after you take it for the first time, call 999 straight away. Especially if you have any shortness of breath or swelling around your lips or mouth.

If you are not sure whether you can take amlodipine, get in touch with your doctor or read the patient information leaflet that comes with your amlodipine tablets.

Amlodipine can interact with other medicines you might be taking. To avoid drug interactions, speak to your doctor before taking amlodipine. Especially if you take any of these medicines:

• antifungal medicines, such as ketoconazole, itraconazole
• ritonavir, indinavir or nelfinavir, which are HIV medications
• antibiotics, such as rifampicin, erythromycin, clarithromycin
• herbal remedies or supplements that contain St. John’s wort
• heart medicines, such as verapamil or diltiazem
• dantrolene
• immune system altering medicines, such as tacrolimus, sirolimus, temsirolimus, and everolimus
• cholesterol lowering medicines, such as simvastatin
• cyclosporine
• other medications that lower your blood pressure, such as ramipril, lisinopril

If you’re not sure whether you can take amlodipine, please get in touch with your doctor or read the patient information leaflet that comes with your amlodipine tablets.

You should not drink grapefruit juice or eat fresh grapefruits while you take amlodipine. Grapefruit juice can interfere with how amlodipine works and increase the amount of amlodipine in your system in an uncontrolled way.

There are alternative treatments available from ZAVA that you can take for high blood pressure, including:

• enalapril
• lisinopril
• ramipril
• bisoprolol
• losartan
• bendroflumethiazide

Speak to your doctor or a healthcare professional if you want to switch to a different high blood pressure medication. Your doctor can then decide on an alternative treatment that is right for you.

Amlodipine is not a diuretic, it is a calcium channel blocker. Unlike some diuretics, amlodipine will not make you pee a lot or cause dehydration.

You can take amlodipine with a diuretic if you need help with lowering your blood pressure. You may want to look at our page on bendroflumethiazide as an example of a diuretic and to see if it’s an option for you.