Amlodipine

What is Amlodipine?

Amlodipine is a prescription tablet you might be given if you have high blood pressure or chest pain caused by heart disease. Or, if you want to use the technical terms for these two conditions: hypertension and angina. Left untreated, hypertension can cause damage to major organs in the body and increase your risk of developing serious health conditions, like heart disease. This can lead to heart attacks and strokes, which are life-threatening.

Amlodipine comes in a few different chemical forms, including amlodipine besilate, amlodipine maleate and amlodipine mesylate. But they all basically do the same job. Amlodipine is a type of medicine called a calcium channel blocker or calcium antagonist.

The drug is the generic version of Istin, so you’ll normally find it’s a bit cheaper. But amlodipine is also used as an ingredient in combination treatments, like Exforge and Sevikar.

How does Amlodipine work?

Calcium channel blockers like amlodipine treat high blood pressure by preventing calcium from entering the cells of the arteries and heart. When calcium is blocked, blood vessels can relax and widen, so the heart doesn’t have to pump as hard, which lowers your blood pressure in return.

Angina is caused by restricted blood flow to the heart. Calcium antagonists control angina by increasing the blood supply to the heart. Amlodipine can be used to prevent chest pain, but it can’t be taken to stop it once it has started. Some calcium channel blockers can slow down your heart rate, which also helps lower blood pressure and reduces chest pain.

Some studies have found that calcium channel blockers like Amlodipine are more effective than other types of hypertension treatments at reducing the risk of stroke.^[1]

What doses of Amlodipine are there?

You can get amlodipine as 5mg and 10mg tablets. The dose you use will be determined by your age (if you’re older, you’ll usually be prescribed a lower dose), how severe your high blood pressure or angina is and your health status (such as whether you have liver or kidney problems). In most cases, patients will start on 5mg tablets once a day^[2]

How to take Amlodipine

Ask your prescriber or your pharmacist if there’s anything you aren’t sure about when taking Amlodipine, and make sure you read the leaflet that comes with it.

• Take one tablet, once a day with water.
• The normal starting dose is 5mg but your prescriber will advise you on which dose to take.

It doesn’t really matter whether you take Amlodipine before or after food. The main thing really is that you take them at the same time every day and don’t forget.

You should avoid eating or drinking grapefruit while taking this medication, as it can increase the concentration of amlodipine in your body, which can increase the risk of developing side effects. ^[1]

If you’re looking for something easier to swallow than whole tablets, there’s an oral solution you can take instead. It comes with a spoon you can use to measure out the dose. You should take this on its own, and not mix it with food or other liquid.

How long does it take for Amlodipine to work?

After you’ve taken a dose, it takes between 6 and 12 hours for the drug to be fully absorbed into your bloodstream.^[2]
So technically, it starts to work on the same day you begin taking it. But it can take a couple of weeks for the drug to become what’s called ‘steady state’ in the body, and this is when it starts to make the most difference.

The same goes for if you’re already taking it, but increasing your dose. One study looking at people who increased their dose of the drug from 5mg to 10mg saw a ‘significant’ reduction in blood pressure over 4-8 weeks.^[3]

If you’re taking amlodipine for hypertension, most people don’t have any symptoms when they start treatment, so you may not feel any different once you start taking your medication. But you’ll have your blood pressure monitored regularly when you’re taking this type of medicine to make sure it’s working.

What should I do if I make a mistake when taking Amlodipine?

If you forget to take your dose of Amlodipine and you remember on the day you forgot to take it, then you should take it as soon as you remember and then continue taking your medication as normal. If you forget and remember the following day, then you should skip the missed dose and carry on as normal. Basically, don’t take a double dose to make up for a missed one.

If you take too much Amlodipine, then you should contact your doctor or go to your local hospital immediately. Taking too much can cause sleepiness and dizziness.