clonidine vs verapamil
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Side-by-side comparison of clonidine and verapamil. 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
Sinus bradycardia resulting in hospitalization and pacemaker insertion has been reported in association with the use of clonidine concomitantly with diltiazem or verapamil.
Clonidine (Catapres) is a medicine used to treat high blood pressure. It can be used alone or with other blood pressure medicines.
Verapamil is a drug that helps to lower blood pressure and treat chest pain (angina) and irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias). It works by relaxing blood vessels and slowing down the heart rate.
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.
Verapamil is used to treat chest pain called angina. This includes angina that happens when you are resting or during normal activity. It is also used to control your heart rate if you have a fast or irregular heartbeat, such as atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. Verapamil also treats high blood pressure.
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.
Verapamil belongs to a class of drugs called calcium channel blockers. It works by blocking calcium from entering heart and blood vessel cells. This relaxes and widens blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure and makes it easier for the heart to pump.
- • 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)
- • Constipation
- • Shortness of breath
- • Dizziness
- • Slow heart rate (less than 50 beats per minute)
- • Nausea
- Pain 3,038
- Fatigue 2,925
- Nausea 2,920
- Headache 2,798
- Hypertension 2,595
- Dyspnoea 356
- Nausea 341
- Drug Interaction 316
- Dizziness 286
- Hypotension 280
If you suddenly stop taking clonidine, your blood pressure may increase. This can cause serious problems. Talk to your doctor before stopping this medicine.
You should not take this medicine if you have severe heart problems, very low blood pressure, or certain types of irregular heartbeats without a pacemaker. Talk to your doctor if you have any of these conditions.
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.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if verapamil will harm your unborn baby. Verapamil can pass into breast milk, so talk to your doctor about the best way to feed your baby if you take this medicine.
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How to Read This clonidine vs verapamil Comparison
clonidine is classified in the Central Alpha-2 Agonist drug class, while verapamil 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, clonidine has 14,276 submissions while verapamil has 1,579. 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 using these two drugs at the same time can cause a very slow heart rate that might require a hospital stay.. 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 clonidine or verapamil.
Registry boundary: This comparison displays source-record fields and does not provide individualized medical direction.