If necessary, block calcium channels, Amlodipine may be prescribed. The drug helps to lower blood pressure, eliminates the symptoms of coronary heart disease. The medication is used during pregnancy, but you should know the features of this medication and follow the doctor's recommendations.
Reviews of specialists about the use of this medication during pregnancy for patients with arterial hypertension are positive. Therapy with the drug in 95% of cases gives a positive result. However, there was no negative effect on the development of the fetus.
However, this drug is able to cross the placental barrier and excreted along with breast milk. It is important that medical recommendations are followed and constant monitoring of the pregnant woman's health is carried out.
Composition and release forms
The main active component of the drug is amlodipine. Additional substances:
- microcrystalline silicate cellulose;
- magnesium stearate;
- pregelatinized starch.
The medicine is available in the form of tablets of 2.5, 5 and 10 mg. The pills have a rounded shape, beveled edges. Their color is white.
Each blister contains 10 tablets. In a pack - 2 blisters. The medicine is dispensed without a prescription.
How does it work
The main actions of the drug: hypotensive and antianginal.
Therapeutic effects:
- Decreased severity of ischemia.
- Expansion of peripheral arterioles.
- Decreased vascular resistance.
- Reducing myocardial oxygen demand.
- Vasodilation in the myocardial zones.
- Increased oxygen supply to the myocardium.
- Obstruction of the development of coronospasm.
- An increase in time to the first ischemic episode, if there were physical exertion.
- Obstruction of the appearance of angina attacks and a decrease in their frequency.
- Lowering blood pressure per day.
- Reducing the severity of left ventricular myocardial hypertrophy.
Taking the drug does not have a negative effect on metabolism, as well as on the quantitative indicator of lipids in the blood. Amlodipine is able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
The elimination half-life takes 35-50 hours. 7-8 days after the start of treatment, the concentration of the substance in the blood plasma comes into stable equilibrium. It is excreted mainly by the kidneys, through the intestines and with bile. With hemodialysis, it is not removed.
If the patient is diagnosed with kidney failure, severe chronic heart failure, then the half-life can be 60–65 hours.
The effect of the use of the drug is noticeable already 2-4 hours after taking the pill. It persists throughout the day.
Pharmacokinetics
Amlodipine is characterized by good absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Eating does not affect absorption. The maximum concentration of the active substance of the drug in serum is observed after 6-12 hours.
List of indications
"Amlodipine" is prescribed in such cases:
- To bring blood pressure back to normal.
- For the treatment of high blood pressure.
- With coronary heart disease caused by spasms of the coronary vessels or angina pectoris.
- The presence of a vasospastic component and exertional angina.
The drug can be prescribed as an independent tool, as well as in complex therapy in the treatment of angina pectoris.
Instructions for use
For pregnant women, gestational hypertension or high blood pressure is considered a dangerous symptom. If this condition is untimely treated, perinatal disease can develop, as a result of which a fatal outcome is possible, since a hemorrhage in the brain will occur. If a woman complains of instability in blood pressure late in pregnancy, the doctor may prescribe Amlodipine.
According to studies, the drug is an effective medication. A few days after the start of treatment, the pressure begins to decrease and returns to normal. According to statistics, in 9 out of 11 pregnant women, blood pressure stabilized and returned to normal levels. By the day of birth, the pressure returns to normal.
It is worth noting that Amlodipine not only has a clinical effect, but also helps restore vasoregulatory function.
"Amlodipine" is a drug from category C according to the FDA classification. In other words, the drug was investigated for effects on reproductive function in animals. According to the data obtained, it affected the fetus negatively. However, such studies have not been conducted in pregnant women. For this reason, experts do not recommend nursing mothers during treatment with this drug to suspend breastfeeding and feed the baby artificially.
Taking Amlodipine during pregnancy is necessary if the health benefits of the expectant mother exceed the likely risks to the fetus.
List of contraindications
The drug is not prescribed in such situations:
- With unstable angina or recurrence of coronary heart disease.
- If narrowing of the aorta is noted in the valve area. This leads to obstruction of blood flow.
- With heart failure.
- Under the age of 18 years.
- If there are pathologies in the working functions of the liver.
- With individual intolerance to the components of the drug.
- With cardiogenic shock.
- With arterial hypotension in collapse.
In some conditions, the drug is prescribed with caution: diabetes, chronic heart failure, impaired lipid metabolism, in the first month after a heart attack.
Features of taking the drug for pregnant women
The instructions for the drug do not contain exact dosages for women in position. The duration of treatment, the daily dose is determined by the doctor based on the medical history, assessment of the patient's condition and the results of the examination.
Dosages for women expecting a baby are as follows: taking the drug once a day in a dosage of 2.5 to 10 mg. 2.5 mg - the initial dose, which will allow the doctor to evaluate the body's response to the drug. Based on the information received, the specialist will either prescribe a higher dosage, or recommend another drug.
"Amlodipine" is prescribed if there is an individual sensitivity and intolerance to "Nifedipine" or if there is no necessary therapeutic effect from other authorized medications. In such situations, Amlodipine acts as a backup drug that can be prescribed to a woman.
2 trimester of pregnancy - the period when it can be prescribed. In the early stages, taking the drug is undesirable, since the active substance of the drug can adversely affect the growth and development of the fetus.
But in extreme situations, when there is a real threat to the life of the mother and the child, Amlodipine is prescribed in the 1st trimester during pregnancy. With a significant increase in blood pressure, not only the risk of premature delivery and fetal malformations increases, but also the real danger to the life of the expectant mother. Amlodipine is also used in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.
There is information in foreign medical literature that Amlodipine should not be taken during lactation. More gentle options in this case will be Enalapril or Captopril. The instructions to Amlodipine indicate that only a doctor can prescribe this drug and that when breastfeeding, Methyldopa will be the most successful.
Side effects
"Amlodipine" during pregnancy can cause many side effects:
- Headaches, fatigue, cramps, dizziness, sleep disturbances, loss of consciousness, tremors, apathy, anxiety.
- Leukopenia, cardiac arrhythmias, edema, hyperemia, sternum pain, shortness of breath.
- Vomiting, dry mouth, gastritis, flatulence, nausea, pancreatitis, increased appetite, stool disorders.
- Dermatitis, urticaria, erythematous rash, itching.
- Visual impairment, increased sweating, tinnitus, nosebleeds.
The listed side effects are the reason for canceling treatment with the drug and switching to other sparing drugs.
Overdose
With all the recommendations of the doctor, the likelihood of an overdose is extremely small. However, you need to know what symptoms indicate this condition:
- excessive vasodilation;
- tachycardia;
- pressure reduction characterized by duration and stability.
When these symptoms appear, it is necessary to do a gastric lavage within 2 hours after the occurrence of the described symptoms, observe bed rest, place your legs on a hill.
Your doctor may prescribe activated carbon. It will also be necessary to control the functioning of the lungs and heart. Supportive therapy is also indicated. In case of an overdose, the doctor will cancel Amlodipine during pregnancy and replace it with another drug.
special instructions
During treatment with the drug, it is necessary to monitor the level of sodium intake. It is also advisable to follow a diet.
Storage Features
The drug should be stored in a dark, dry place out of the reach of children. The temperature should be between 15-25 degrees. Shelf life is 3 years.
Consumer Opinions
Patients who were prescribed "Amlodipine" during pregnancy, in the reviews note the positive effect of the treatment and the fact that the pressure returned to normal. Favorably speak about the drug and those women to whom "Amlodipine" was prescribed during breastfeeding.
However, some note that after the use of the drug, nausea, sometimes vomiting, is observed. Everything is individual, which is why only the doctor determines the advisability of using the drug.
Conclusion
Arterial hypertension during pregnancy must be treated promptly and effectively. This will avoid the appearance of perinatal complications of both the mother and the child. Specialists try to give preference to drugs that not only correct pressure indicators, but also have a protective function for organs. Amlodipine also belongs to such means.
Pregnancy is not a condition where you can self-medicate. Moreover, one should be very careful about one’s own health and, at the slightest doubt and in poor condition, seek help from specialists.
It is also necessary to remember that taking the drug without first consulting with a specialist can not only not give a positive result, but also cause adverse reactions. Therefore, the use of the drug alone is strictly prohibited.