Tenormin

ATTENTION:
Do not stop taking atenolol without talking to Your physician. Suddenly stopping atenolol may cause chest pain, heart attack, or irregular heartbeat. Your Health provider will probably decrease your dose gradually.

General Information and Indications:

Atenolol, Tenormin, is used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure. It also is used to prevent angina (chest pain) and treat heart attacks. Atenolol is in a class of medications called beta blockers. It works by slowing the heart rate and relaxing the blood vessels so the heart does not have to pump as hard.

Information For Users:

Atenolol comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken once or twice a day. To help you remember to take atenolol, take it around the same time every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask Your physician or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take atenolol exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by Your Health provider.

Atenolol controls high blood pressure and angina but does not cure them. It may take 1-2 weeks before you feel the full benefit of atenolol. Continue to take atenolol even if you feel well. Do not stop taking atenolol without talking to Your physician.

Other uses for this medicine
Atenolol is also used sometimes to prevent migraine headaches and to treat alcohol withdrawal, heart failure, and irregular heartbeat. Talk to Your Health provider about the possible risks of using this medication for your condition.

special precautions:

Call your physician or pharmacist if you are allergic to atenolol or any other medications.
Call your physician or pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking. Be sure to mention any of the following: calcium channel blockers such as diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac, others) and verapamil (Calan, Isoptin, Verelan); clonidine (Catapres); nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as indomethacin (Indocin); and reserpine (Serpalan, Serpasil, Serpatabs). Your Health provider may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for adverse effects.
Call your physician if you have or have ever had asthma or other lung disease; diabetes; severe allergies; an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism); pheochromocytoma; heart failure; a slow heart rate; circulation problems; or heart or kidney disease.
Call your physician if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking atenolol, Call your physician immediately.
if you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the physician or dentist that you are taking atenolol.
you should know that if you have allergic reactions to different substances, your reactions may be worse while you are using atenolol, and your allergic reactions may not respond to the usual doses of injectable epinephrine.
What special dietary instructions should I follow?
If Your Health provider prescribes a low-salt or low-sodium diet, follow these directions carefully.

Possible Adverse Effects:

Atenolol may cause adverse effects. Call your physician if any of the following symptoms are severe or long lasting:

dizziness
lightheadedness
tiredness
drowsiness
depression
upset stomach
diarrhea
Some adverse effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them, Call your physician immediately:

shortness of breath
swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
unusual weight gain
fainting
Atenolol may cause other adverse effects. Call your physician if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.