carvedilol vs clonidine
Side-by-side comparison of carvedilol and clonidine. 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
( 7.1 , 7.5 ) Hypotensive agents (e.g., reserpine, MAO inhibitors, clonidine) may increase the risk of hypotension and/or severe bradycardia. Concomitant administration of clonidine with a β-blocker may cause hypotension and bradycardia. When concomitant treatment with a β-blocker and clonidine is to be terminated, the β-blocker should be discontinued first.
Recommendation: Your doctor should monitor your heart rate and blood pressure. If you need to stop these medicines, follow your doctor's specific order to stop the beta-blocker first.
Coreg
Catapres
Carvedilol is a medicine that lowers blood pressure and helps your heart work better. It belongs to a class of drugs called alpha/beta-blockers.
Clonidine (Catapres) is a medicine used to treat high blood pressure. It can be used alone or with other blood pressure medicines.
Carvedilol treats a few different heart conditions. It is used for long-term heart failure to help you live longer and go to the hospital less. It also helps people who had a heart attack and have a weak heart pump. Carvedilol can also treat high blood pressure.
Clonidine is used to treat high blood pressure. High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney problems. This medicine helps to lower your blood pressure to a safer level.
Carvedilol works by blocking the effects of certain natural chemicals in your body, such as adrenaline. This helps to relax blood vessels and slows down your heart rate. As a result, it lowers blood pressure and makes it easier for your heart to pump blood.
Clonidine works in the brain to lower blood pressure. It tells your blood vessels to relax and widen. This makes it easier for blood to flow through your body, which lowers blood pressure.
- • Dizziness
- • Tiredness
- • Low blood pressure
- • Diarrhea
- • High blood sugar
- • Dry mouth (occurs in about 40 out of 100 people)
- • Drowsiness (occurs in about 33 out of 100 people)
- • Dizziness (occurs in about 16 out of 100 people)
- • Constipation (occurs in about 10 out of 100 people)
- • Feeling sleepy or sedated (occurs in about 10 out of 100 people)
- Tiredness 8,668
- Difficulty breathing 8,176
- Diarrhea 6,867
- Dizziness 6,776
- Feeling sick to your stomach 6,489
- Pain 3,038
- Tiredness 2,922
- Feeling sick to your stomach 2,918
- Headache 2,799
- High blood pressure 2,597
Do not stop taking carvedilol suddenly if you have heart problems. This can make chest pain worse and may cause a heart attack. If you need to stop taking carvedilol, your doctor will slowly lower your dose over 1 to 2 weeks. Carvedilol can also cause your heart rate to slow down too much or lower your blood pressure too much. If your pulse rate drops below 55 beats per minute, talk to your doctor about lowering the dose.
If you suddenly stop taking clonidine, your blood pressure may increase. This can cause serious problems. Talk to your doctor before stopping this medicine.
It is not known if carvedilol will harm your unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Beta-blockers like carvedilol may cause low blood pressure, slow heart rate, and breathing problems in newborns.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if clonidine will harm your unborn baby. Talk to your doctor if you are breastfeeding.
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How to Read This carvedilol vs clonidine Comparison
carvedilol is classified in the Beta-Blocker (Alpha/Beta) drug class, while clonidine sits within the Central Alpha-2 Agonist 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, carvedilol has 36,976 submissions while clonidine has 14,274. 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 both drugs lower blood pressure and slow down the heart rate. taking them together can make these effects too strong, causing a dangerously slow heart or very low blood pressure.. 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 carvedilol and clonidine - 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.