Amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide/valsartan

What is amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide/valsartan?

Amlodipine is in a group of drugs called calcium channel blockers. Amlodipine relaxes (widens) blood vessels and improves blood flow.

Hydrochlorothiazide is a thiazide diuretic (water pill) that helps prevent your body from absorbing too much salt, which can cause fluid retention.

Valsartan is in a group of drugs called angiotensin II receptor antagonists. Valsartan keeps blood vessels from narrowing, which lowers blood pressure improves blood flow.

The combination of amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, and valsartan is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension).

This medication is usually given after other blood pressure medications have been tried without successful treatment of symptoms.

Amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, and valsartan may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Precautions

You should not take this medication if you are allergic to amlodipine (Norvasc), hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ, HydroDiuril, Hyzaar, Vaseretic, Zestoretic and others), valsartan (Diovan), or sulfa drugs, or if you are unable to urinate.

If you have any of these other conditions, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely take this medication:

kidney disease;
liver disease;
congestive heart failure;
asthma or allergies;
low or high levels of magnesium or potassium in your blood;
gout;
lupus; or
diabetes.

FDA pregnancy category D. This medication can cause harm to an unborn baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are pregnant. Amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, and valsartan may cause injury and even death to the unborn baby if you take it during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Use an effective form of birth control. Stop using this medication and tell your doctor right away if you become pregnant during treatment.

Hydrochlorothiazide can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Avoid drinking alcohol. It can lower your blood pressure and may increase some of the side effects of amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, and valsartan.

Do not use potassium supplements or salt substitutes while you are taking amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, and valsartan, unless your doctor has told you to.

Avoid getting up too fast from a sitting or lying position, or you may feel dizzy. Get up slowly and steady yourself to prevent a fall.

▲ Back to top

Instructions

Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine.

Overdose symptoms may include fast or slow heartbeat, confusion, extreme thirst, increased urination, leg discomfort, muscle weakness or limp feeling; feeling light-headed, and fainting.

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, wait until then to take the medicine and skip the missed dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

▲ Back to top

Side Effects

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have a serious side effect such as:

feeling like you might pass out;
swelling, rapid weight gain;
chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling;
slow, fast, or pounding heartbeats;
urinating less than usual, or not at all;
easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness;
numbness, burning, pain, or tingly feeling; or
jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or
dry mouth, increased thirst, drowsiness, restless feeling, confusion, increased urination, fast heart rate, fainting, or seizure (convulsions).

Less serious side effects may include:

dizziness;
headache, tired feeling;
nausea, upset stomach;
muscle spasms, back pain; or
stuffy nose, sore throat.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

▲ Back to top

Interactions

Tell your doctor about all other medications you use, especially:

any other blood pressure medications;
steroids (prednisone and others);
carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol);
lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid);
cholestyramine (Prevalite, Questran) or colestipol (Colestid);
insulin or diabetes medications you take by mouth;
a barbiturate such as amobarbital (Amytal), butabarbital (Butisol), mephobarbital (Mebaral), secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton);
any other diuretics (water pills);
aspirin or other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), diclofenac (Voltaren), etodolac (Lodine), indomethacin (Indocin), ketoprofen (Orudis), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), and others;
a muscle relaxer such as baclofen (Lioresal), carisoprodol (Soma), cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), dantrolene (Dantrium), metaxalone (Skelaxin), or methocarbamol (Robaxin), orphenadrine (Norflex), or tizanidine (Zanaflex);
a narcotic medication such as hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (Methadose), morphine (Kadian, MS Contin), oxycodone (OxyContin), and others.

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs that can interact with amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide, and valsartan. Tell your doctor about all the prescription and over-the-counter medications you use. This includes vitamins, minerals, herbal products, and drugs prescribed by other doctors. Do not start using a new medication without telling your doctor.

Other Names

amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide/valsartan and Exforge HCT

Available Strengths & Dosages

Route	Form	Strength
oral	tablet	5 mg-12.5 mg-160 mg
oral	tablet	10 mg-12.5 mg-160 mg
oral	tablet	5 mg-25 mg-160 mg
oral	tablet	10 mg-25 mg-160 mg
oral	tablet	10 mg-25 mg-320 mg

▲ Back to top

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.