Both drugs belong to the same pharmacological group. There are no special differences in the mechanism of action. The main difference is that at the same dosage, Felodipine is excreted 1.5 times faster from the body, which reduces the duration of action. The concentration of the drug in the blood also decreases.
That is why the tablets are available in a special shell, which allows you to extend the hypotensive effect. This allows you to achieve a similar dose with Amlodipine – 1 time per day. Therefore, felodipine costs much more than its counterpart. The price of Amlodipine is 70-150 rubles, while the price of Felodipine is about 300 rubles.
If taken incorrectly or if there are contraindications, side effects may develop. The list is quite extensive, starting from dizziness and ending with Quincke’s edema. Also, both drugs are prohibited for pregnant women and children.
Despite the fact that Felodipine has a special shell, studies have shown that Amlodipine is more effective. When measuring blood pressure in the morning and evening, he showed the best result. The level of amlodipine in the blood fluctuates slightly. This is true for patients who sometimes miss the drug.
With stable angina pectoris when taking 10 mg, Felodipine showed a better result on exercise tolerance. When taking 5 mg, the effectiveness of both drugs is approximately the same.
Unlike Felodipine, Amlodipine interacts poorly with Simvastatin. As a result of this, myopathy can develop. If joint use is required, then the daily dose of Simvastatin should not exceed 20 mg.
Felodipine has a large number of advantages:
- It has a prolonged effect, which allows you to take the drug once a day.
- Reduces sodium reabsorption, but does not affect the concentration of potassium.
- With prolonged use, it reduces the risk of an angina attack, improves blood circulation.
- With prolonged use, there is no cumulative effect.
- Does not increase cholesterol and glucose.
- It is possible to take not only with hypertension, but also with some cardiovascular diseases.
Amlodipine also has a number of positive aspects:
- High bioavailability.
- Low price.
- It is enough to take 1 time per day.
- Perhaps the use for the prevention of angina attacks.
Thus, both drugs are quite effective in combating high blood pressure. Each has a number of advantages. However, the doctor should choose a specific drug and dosage. Self-medication can adversely affect the health of the patient.
In the modern world, hypertension is quite common among older people and among young people. It leads to cardiovascular disease. Fatal outcome, from which happens much more often than from other pathologies. Therefore, it is necessary to timely treat arterial hypertension. One of the leading places in therapy is occupied by calcium channel blockers. This pharmacological group includes felodipine and amlodipine. Many patients are interested in which of the drugs is more effective. To answer this question, you need to study each of them in more detail.
Felodipine
The active substance is felodipine. Available in tablet form. It has antianginal and hypotensive effects.
The antihypertensive effect is due to a decrease in vascular resistance. Due to this, the patient’s blood pressure decreases not only at rest, but also during exercise. At the initial stages of treatment, an increase in heart rate is possible. The antihypertensive effect of the drug persists for a day.
Anti-ischemic effect due to improved blood supply to the heart muscle. Myocardial oxygen demand decreases.
The absorption of the substance is independent of food intake and occurs in almost full volume. Bioavailability averages 15%. The maximum concentration of the drug is observed after 3-5 hours. The half-life is 25 hours. About 70% is excreted by the kidneys, and the rest by the intestines.
Indications are:
- Hypertonic disease.
- Angina pectoris.
- Raynaud’s disease (symptomatic therapy).
Contraindications are:
- Individual intolerance to the drug.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding.
- Cardiogenic shock.
- Myocardial infarction.
- Unstable angina pectoris.
- Arterial hypotension.
- Children under 18 years old.
Caution should be used in case of impaired renal function, heart failure, mitral or aortic stenosis, and elderly people.
Tablets are recommended to be taken on an empty stomach, without chewing and drinking plenty of water. Low-carb meals are also allowed.
The dosage is selected by the doctor individually. The average dosage is 5-10 mg per day. People with impaired renal function, as well as older people, are advised to start taking with a dosage of 2.5 mg.
Amlodipine
The active substance is amlodipine besylate. It has hypotensive and antianginal effects. Available in tablet form.
The antianginal effect occurs due to the expansion of arterioles and arteries, which reduces the severity of myocardial ischemia.
The antihypertensive effect is dose-dependent. Taking the drug can reduce blood pressure during the day.
Indications are:
- Hypertonic disease.
- Angina pectoris.
- Chronic heart failure in the form of decompensation.
- A painless variant of myocardial infarction.
Contraindications are:
- Individual intolerance to the drug.
- Pregnancy and lactation.
- Arterial hypotension.
- Aortic stenosis.
- Acute myocardial infarction.
- Kidney disease.
- Children under 18 years old.
- Mitral stenosis.
The initial dosage of the drug is 5 mg. Over two weeks, it gradually increases to 10 mg once. With arterial hypertension, the dosage is 2.5-5 mg per day. It is also possible to use for the prevention of angina attacks. In this case, 10 mg per day is taken.
