amiloride vs benazepril
Side-by-side comparison of amiloride and benazepril. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
moderate Known Drug Interaction
Hyperkalemia Potassium-sparing diuretics (spironolactone, amiloride, triamterene, and others) can increase the risk of hyperkalemia.
Recommendation: You should have regular blood tests to check your potassium levels if you are prescribed both medications.
Midamor
Lotensin
Amiloride is a water pill that helps your body hold onto potassium. It is often used with other water pills to prevent low potassium levels.
Benazepril (Lotensin) is a medicine that lowers your blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure helps to prevent strokes and heart attacks.
Amiloride treats high blood pressure and heart failure. It helps restore normal potassium levels if you develop low potassium while taking other water pills. It can also prevent low potassium if you are at risk, such as if you take digoxin or have heart rhythm problems. Amiloride is not usually prescribed alone.
Benazepril is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering your blood pressure reduces your risk of heart attack and stroke. It can be used alone or with other blood pressure medicines.
Amiloride blocks sodium channels in your kidneys. This action reduces the amount of potassium lost in your urine. This helps to maintain or increase potassium levels in your body.
Benazepril is an ACE inhibitor. It works by relaxing your blood vessels. This makes it easier for your heart to pump blood.
- • Headache
- • Nausea
- • Loss of appetite
- • Diarrhea
- • Vomiting
- • Headache
- • Dizziness
- • Feeling sleepy
- • Dizziness when standing up
- Shortness of breath 69
- Diarrhea 57
- Feeling sick to your stomach 49
- Throwing up 39
- Tiredness 37
- Feeling sick to your stomach 439
- Feeling tired 408
- Feeling lightheaded 382
- Difficulty breathing 380
- Discomfort 361
Amiloride can cause high potassium levels, which can be dangerous. You should not take this medicine if you already have high potassium, kidney problems, or are taking other potassium-sparing diuretics or potassium supplements. Your doctor should check your potassium levels regularly.
If you become pregnant, stop taking benazepril right away and tell your doctor. This medicine can harm or kill your unborn baby.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if amiloride can harm an unborn baby or pass into breast milk.
Benazepril can cause serious harm to your unborn baby, including death. Stop taking it as soon as you know you are pregnant. Talk to your doctor about other blood pressure medicines if you are planning to become pregnant.
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How to Read This amiloride vs benazepril Comparison
amiloride is classified in the Potassium-Sparing Diuretic drug class, while benazepril sits within the ACE Inhibitor class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.
Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, amiloride has 251 submissions while benazepril has 1,970. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known moderate interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to these two drugs both prevent the kidneys from flushing out potassium. taking them together increases the risk that your potassium levels will become too high.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.
A table cannot substitute for clinical judgment. Effectiveness, tolerability, drug-drug interactions with your other medications, kidney and liver function, pregnancy status, insurance formulary, and price all feed into a decision that only a licensed prescriber can make responsibly. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This page is for educational purposes only, is not medical advice, and should not be used to self-switch between amiloride and benazepril - always consult your physician or pharmacist first.
Important: This comparison is for informational purposes only. Drug effects vary between individuals. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized medical advice.