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What is carvedilol?

Carvedilol is in a group of drugs called beta-blockers. Beta-blockers affect the heart and circulation (blood flow through arteries and veins).

Carvedilol is used to treat heart failure and hypertension (high blood pressure). It is also used to treat or prevent heart attack.

Carvedilol may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

Precautions

Instructions

Side Effects

Interactions

Precautions

You should not take this medication if you are allergic to carvedilol, or if you have:

• asthma, bronchitis, emphysema;
• severe liver disease; or
• a serious heart condition such as heart block, sick sinus syndrome, or slow heart rate (unless you have a pacemaker).

Before taking carvedilol, tell your doctor if you have:

• diabetes (taking carvedilol can make it harder for you to tell when you have low blood sugar);
• low blood pressure;
• congestive heart failure;
• depression;
• kidney disease;
• a thyroid disorder;
• myasthenia gravis;
• pheochromocytoma; or
• problems with circulation (such as Raynaud's syndrome).

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

FDA pregnancy category C. It is not known whether carvedilol is harmful to an unborn baby. Before using this medication, tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during treatment.

It is not known whether carvedilol passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. Do not use this medication without telling your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.

Carvedilol can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert.

Avoid drinking alcohol within 2 hours before or after taking extended-release carvedilol (Coreg CR). Also avoid taking medicines or other products that might contain alcohol. Alcohol may cause the carvedilol in Coreg CR to be released too quickly into the body. Check the labels of any prescription or over-the-counter medicines you take to see if they contain alcohol (also called ethanol).

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.

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Instructions

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

Overdose symptoms may include uneven heartbeats, shortness of breath, bluish-colored fingernails, dizziness, weakness, fainting, and seizure (convulsions).

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If your next dose is less than 4 hours away, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

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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 any of these serious side effects:

• slow or uneven heartbeats;
• feeling light-headed, fainting;
• feeling short of breath, even with mild exertion;
• swelling of your ankles or feet;
• nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
• depression; or
• cold feeling in your hands and feet.

Less serious side effects may include:

• decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm;
• sleep problems (insomnia);
• tired feeling; or
• anxiety, nervousness.

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. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

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Interactions

Before taking carvedilol, tell your doctor if you are using:

• allergy treatments (or if you are undergoing allergy skin-testing);
• clonidine (Catapres);
• cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune);
• digoxin (digitalis, Lanoxin);
• fluconazole (Diflucan);
• guanabenz (Wytensin);
• rifampin (Rifadin, Rifater, Rifamate);
• insulin or diabetes medication you take by mouth;
• an antidepressant such as fluoxetine (Prozac) or paroxetine (Paxil);
• a beta blocker such as atenolol (Tenormin), esmolol (Brevibloc), labetalol (Normodyne, Trandate), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol), nadolol (Corgard), propranolol (Inderal, InnoPran), sotalol (Betapace), and others;
• an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), or selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam);
• a heart medication such as amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), quinidine (Quinidex, Quinaglute, Quin-Release), propafenone (Rythmol), nifedipine (Procardia, Adalat), reserpine (Serpasil), verapamil (Calan, Verelan, Isoptin), diltiazem (Cartia, Cardizem);
• medicine for asthma or other breathing disorders, such as albuterol (Ventolin, Proventil), bitolterol (Tornalate), metaproterenol (Alupent), pirbuterol (Maxair), terbutaline (Brethaire, Brethine, Bricanyl), and theophylline (Theo-Dur, Theolair); or
• cold medicines, stimulant medicines, or diet pills.

This list is not complete and there may be other drugs not listed that can affect carvedilol. 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.

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