amiodarone vs diltiazem
According to this portal's Publishing Organization, this page was last reviewed in August 2026 against our methodology. Figures and extracts on this site, including tables above 1,000 rows when the corpus is that large, are the publisher's responsibility.
Side-by-side comparison of amiodarone and diltiazem. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
minor Known Drug Interaction
Negative Chronotropes digoxin, beta blockers, verapamil, diltiazem, clonidine, ivabradine Potentiates the electrophysiologic and hemodynamic effects of amiodarone, resulting in bradycardia, sinus arrest, and AV block.
Cordarone, Pacerone
Cardizem, Tiazac
Amiodarone (Pacerone) is a medicine used to treat life-threatening, irregular heartbeats. It helps to restore a normal heart rhythm when other medicines don't work or can't be used.
Diltiazem is a medicine that helps lower high blood pressure and prevent chest pain. It belongs to a class of drugs called calcium channel blockers.
This medicine treats very fast, irregular heartbeats in the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart). It is used when these irregular heartbeats are life-threatening. It is also used when other medicines don't work well enough or cause too many side effects. This medicine is for adults.
Diltiazem is used to treat high blood pressure. It can be used alone or with other blood pressure medicines. Diltiazem also helps manage chronic stable angina (chest pain) and angina caused by spasms in the heart's blood vessels.
Amiodarone affects the electrical signals in your heart. It slows down these signals, which helps your heart beat normally. This medicine can help prevent dangerous, fast heart rhythms.
Diltiazem works by relaxing blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure. It also reduces the heart's workload, which can prevent chest pain. This medicine blocks calcium from entering heart and blood vessel cells.
- • Low thyroid levels (hypothyroidism)
- • High thyroid levels (hyperthyroidism)
- • Heart failure
- • Irregular heartbeats
- • Problems with the heart's natural pacemaker (SA node dysfunction)
- • Swelling in your ankles or feet
- • Headache
- • Dizziness
- • Slow heart rate
- • Constipation
- Dyspnoea 1,158
- Asthenia 975
- Fatigue 895
- Nausea 606
- Cough 597
- Dyspnoea 3,202
- Fatigue 2,638
- Nausea 2,372
- Pain 2,365
- Dizziness 2,091
This medicine can cause serious problems with your lungs, liver, and heart. Lung problems can be fatal. Your doctor will check your lungs with X-rays and breathing tests. Liver problems can also be fatal. Your doctor will check your liver with blood tests. This medicine can also make irregular heartbeats worse. You will likely start this medicine in the hospital where your heart can be monitored.
Diltiazem can interact with other heart medications. Tell your doctor if you take beta-blockers or digoxin. Using diltiazem with these drugs can cause heart problems. Your doctor may need to adjust your dosages.
This medicine can harm your unborn baby. It can cause thyroid problems, slow heart rate, and brain development issues. Do not breastfeed while taking this medicine.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if diltiazem will harm your unborn baby. Diltiazem passes into breast milk, so talk to your doctor about breastfeeding while taking this medicine.
Also Compare, Nearby Drugs
Compare amiodarone with
Compare diltiazem with
How to Read This amiodarone vs diltiazem Comparison
amiodarone is classified in the Class III Antiarrhythmic drug class, while diltiazem sits within the Calcium Channel Blocker 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, amiodarone has 4,231 submissions while diltiazem has 12,668. 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 minor interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to these drugs both work to slow the heart's electrical signals and rhythm. using them at the same time can cause a dangerously slow heart rate or heart block.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.
A table cannot represent individual circumstances. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This registry does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions for amiodarone or diltiazem.
Registry boundary: This comparison displays source-record fields and does not provide individualized medical direction.