Learn more. Lifestyle changes can significantly reduce high blood pressure and even lower your risk of hypertension in the future. Learn how garlic and dark…. High blood pressure readings are different for adults, children, and pregnant women. Learn which levels constitute high blood pressure for these….
Renovascular hypertension is a serious condition that's often related to resistant hypertension. Learn about the causes, treatments, and symptoms. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Share on Pinterest Because blood pressure follows a daily rhythm, timing of medication can greatly impact its effectiveness. Getty Images. Why is the timing of your medication important?
Should you take your blood pressure medication at bedtime? What else can you do to better control your blood pressure? The bottom line. Cite Cite Ramon C. Select Format Select format. Permissions Icon Permissions. Abstract Amlodipine, a calcium antagonist of the 1,4-dihydropyridine type, has been shown to be effective in reducing blood pressure BP throughout the day and night when given once daily.
Amlodipine , Chronopharmacology , Circadian. Issue Section:. Download all slides. View Metrics. Email alerts Article activity alert. Advance article alerts. New issue alert. Subject alert. Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic. If you take other medicines that lower blood pressure, such as ramipril or lisinopril , at the same time as amlodipine, the combination can sometimes lower your blood pressure too much.
This may make you feel dizzy or faint. If this keeps happening to you, tell your doctor as your dose may need to be changed. Tell your doctor if you're taking any of these medicines before starting amlodipine :.
St John's wort, a herbal medicine taken for depression, is thought to interfere with the way amlodipine works. Talk to your doctor if you're thinking about taking St John's wort. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements.
Like other calcium channel blockers, amlodipine works in high blood pressure by relaxing and widening blood vessels. This lowers your blood pressure and makes it easier for your heart to pump blood around your body. Angina is chest pain that comes on when not enough blood gets to the muscles of the heart. It usually happens because the arteries to the heart become hardened and narrowed.
Amlodipine widens the arteries so more oxygen gets to the heart and chest pain is prevented. Amlodipine starts to work on the day you start taking it, but it may take a couple of weeks for full effect. If you're taking amlodipine for high blood pressure, you may not have any symptoms. This doesn't mean that the medicine isn't working - and it's important to keep taking it.
If you're taking amlodipine for angina, it'll probably take a couple of weeks before you feel better. Until then, you'll still have bouts of chest pain, and you may even find the pain gets worse to start with.
Make sure you have your medicine spray or tablets for treating angina attacks with you at all times, and use it if you need to. Usually, treatment with amlodipine is long term, even for the rest of your life. Amlodipine is generally safe to take for a long time. In fact, it works best when you take it for a long time. Stopping amlodipine may cause your blood pressure to rise, and this may increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
If you're bothered by side effects, your doctor may be able to prescribe you a different medicine. Even if your blood pressure is successfully lowered by amlodipine, it's best to carry on taking it. If you stop taking amlodipine, your blood pressure could rise back up again. If you need blood pressure-lowering medicines, you'll probably need to take them for the rest of your life. Remember, by keeping your blood pressure low, you're protecting yourself against having a heart attack or stroke in the future.
But drinking alcohol can increase the blood pressure-lowering effect of amlodipine, which can make you feel sleepy, dizzy or bring on a headache. If this happens to you, it's best to stop drinking alcohol while you're taking amlodipine. There are several other calcium channel blockers that work in the same way as amlodipine.
They include nifedipine , felodipine , lacidipine and lercanidipine. There are other calcium channel blockers, such as diltiazem and verapamil, that have other effects on the heart.
There are also lots of other types of medicines to lower your blood pressure or treat chest pain. If you can't take amlodipine or other calcium channel blockers because of side effects, you may be able to switch to another blood pressure-lowering medicine. Your doctor will advise which one is best for you depending upon your age, ethnicity and medical history. Amlodipine works as well as other calcium channel blockers for high blood pressure and angina.
There are some differences, though, between amlodipine and other calcium channel blockers:. But some types of hormonal methods of contraception, like the combined pill and contraceptive patch , are not usually recommended for women with high blood pressure. Talk to your doctor if you're taking combined hormonal contraceptives. There's no firm evidence to suggest that taking amlodipine will reduce fertility in either men or women.
There have been a few reports that calcium channel blockers may reduce the fertility of men who are trying to father a child by IVF. Nothing definite has been proven, but it's thought calcium channel blockers may temporarily alter sperm. This is because grapefruit can increase the concentration of amlodipine in your body and worsen side effects. Tell your doctor if you have any increased side effects, such as dizziness, flushing or a headache after eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice.
If this happens to you, do not drive a car, ride a bike, or use tools or machinery until you feel better. You can boost the health of your heart by making some key lifestyle changes.
Chronobiol Int. Influence of time of day of blood pressure-lowering treatment on cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. Efficacy and tolerability of nebivolol in stage I-II hypertension: a pooled analysis of data from three randomized , placebo-controlled monotherapy trials.
Clin Ther. September 15, Gregory W. Rutecki, MD. The medication choices were as follows:.
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