Atenolol

Tablet:

• 25mg
• 50mg
• 100mg

• Taken without regard to food.
• Avoid drinking apple/orange juice within 4 hours of administration.
• Abrupt withdrawal may cause ischaemic heart failure or MI.
• With long term beta blocker therapy, dosages should be reduced gradually over 1-2 weeks.
• For treatment of MI, it should be given within 12 hours of onset of chest pain.
• For intravenous infusion, give intermittently in Glucose 5% or Sodium chloride 0.9%. Suggested infusion time is 20 minutes.

Cardio-selective beta blocker.

It works by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine/adrenaline causing the heart to beat more slowly and with less force, which lowers blood pressure. It also helps widen veins and arteries to improve blood flow.

• Tiredness
• Hypotension
• Bradycardia
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Drying of eyes, mouth and throat
• Heart failure
• Heart block
• Bronchospasm
• Sexual impotence

• Patients with bronchospasms, asthma or with a history of obstructive airway disease.
• Metabolic acidosis
• Second or third degree heart block
• Uncompensated heart failure
• Sinus bradycardia
• Phaeochromocytoma
• Pulmonary edema
• Hypersensitivity to components
• Cardiogenic shock
• Hypotension
• Severe peripheral arterial disease

CAUTION:

• Mask symptoms of hypoglycemia & hyperthyroidism
• Mask myasthenia gravis
• May aggravate psoriasis
• Abrupt withdrawal can cause angina, MI, arrhythmias and death

• NSAIDs
• Insulin
• Oral hypoglycemics
• Colestyramine