Felodipine

Felodipine is a medication used to lower high blood pressure and prevent chest pain from angina. It's a type of calcium channel blocker that helps by relaxing the muscles in your arteries, which reduces blood pressure.

In the UK, about 25% of adults have high blood pressure. It's considered high if your reading is above 140/90mmHg. High blood pressure can be quite serious, as it may lead to health issues like heart disease, strokes, heart failure, kidney disease, and more.

Felodipine is a type of medicine known as a calcium channel blocker. It works by stopping calcium from getting into the smooth muscles in the walls of your arteries. Normally, when calcium enters these muscles, they tighten up, making it harder for blood to flow and raising blood pressure. By taking Felodipine, you prevent calcium from entering, which helps relax the muscles, allowing blood to flow more easily and reducing blood pressure.

Felodipine comes in three different doses: 2.5mg, 5mg, and 10mg. The dose you need will depend on your specific condition and your overall medical history.

If you have high blood pressure, your treatment usually begins with 5mg once a day, which might be increased to 10mg. If you're older, the starting dose may be lower at 2.5mg a day.

If you're taking Felodipine for angina, you'll typically begin with 5mg daily, and you may increase to 10mg per day.

Yes, Felodipine is only available with a prescription. This ensures that a doctor or healthcare professional can confirm it's the right treatment for you. Most medications for high blood pressure require a prescription.

Cardioplen XL is used to reduce high blood pressure. It's the branded form of Felodipine and functions in the same manner. The key difference is that the generic version is usually less expensive and may be produced by a different manufacturer.

A study from 2001 examined how felodipine affected blood pressure over the course of a year. By the year's end, all 85 patients experienced at least a 10% reduction in blood pressure compared to those in the placebo group.

The group taking felodipine had better blood pressure control, with 62% achieving this, compared to just 34% in the placebo group. This indicates that felodipine is effective at lowering and managing blood pressure, helping to reduce related risks.

As with any medication, Felodipine may cause some side effects that could affect you.

Some common side effects are:

You might experience some other less common side effects. For more details about these, please refer to the