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Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). If you have high blood pressure, taking amlodipine can help to prevent future heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
It is also used to prevent chest pain caused by heart disease (angina).
According to NHS, amlodipine helps 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.
With angina, you usually get chest pain because the arteries going to the heart have become hardened and narrowed. Amlodipine helps by improving the blood and oxygen supply to your heart.
This medicine is only available on prescription. It comes as tablets or as a liquid you swallow.
Like all medicines, amlodipine can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them.
Side effects often improve as your body gets used to the medicine.
Common side effects
These common side effects of amlodipine happen in more than 1 in 100 people. They’re usually mild and only last for a short time.
They include:
1. Headaches
2. Feeling dizzy
3. Flushing
4. A pounding heartbeat
5. Swollen ankles.
Serious side effects
Serious side effects after taking amlodipine are rare and happen in less than 1 in 10,000 people.
Call a doctor straight away if:
1. you have stomach problems, severe pain in your stomach, with or without diarrhoea (whether it has blood in it or not), feeling sick and being sick (nausea and vomiting), these can be signs of pancreatitis.
2. the whites of your eyes turn yellow, or your skin turns yellow although this may be less obvious on brown or black skin, this can be a sign of liver problems.
Immediate action required:
Call emergency room now if:
you get chest pain that does not stop after a few minutes or is new or worse if you already have angina.
Chest pain is a possible sign of a heart attack and needs to be checked out as soon as possible.
Serious allergic reaction
In rare cases, it’s possible to have a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to amlodipine.
Immediate action required:
Call emergency room or go to A&E now if:
1. you get a skin rash that may include itchy, red, swollen, blistered or peeling skin
2. you’re wheezing
3. you get tightness in the chest or throat
4. you have trouble breathing or talking
5. your mouth, face, lips, tongue or throat start swelling.
You could be having a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital.
Other side effects
These are not all the side effects of amlodipine For a full list, see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.
Opera News
