diltiazem vs ranitidine

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Side-by-side comparison of diltiazem and ranitidine. 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

Ranitidine produced smaller, nonsignificant increases.

Drug Class
diltiazem Calcium Channel Blocker
ranitidine H2 Receptor Antagonist
Type
diltiazem Prescription
ranitidine Over-the-Counter
Summary
diltiazem

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.

ranitidine

Ranitidine (Zantac) helps reduce stomach acid. It can relieve heartburn and sour stomach.

What It Treats
diltiazem

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.

ranitidine

This medicine treats heartburn caused by acid indigestion and sour stomach. You can also take it to prevent heartburn. It can prevent heartburn caused by eating or drinking certain foods and drinks.

How It Works
diltiazem

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.

ranitidine

Ranitidine is an H2 receptor antagonist. It works by blocking histamine. Blocking histamine reduces the amount of acid your stomach makes.

Common Side Effects
diltiazem
  • Swelling in your ankles or feet
  • Headache
  • Dizziness
  • Slow heart rate
  • Constipation
ranitidine
  • Headache
FAERS Reports
diltiazem
  • Dyspnoea 3,202
  • Fatigue 2,638
  • Nausea 2,372
  • Pain 2,365
  • Dizziness 2,091
ranitidine
  • Breast Cancer 24,853
  • Prostate Cancer 22,252
  • Colorectal Cancer 17,674
  • Bladder Cancer 16,746
  • Renal Cancer 16,278
Serious Warnings
diltiazem

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.

ranitidine

No specific warnings noted.

Pregnancy
diltiazem

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.

ranitidine

No pregnancy information available.

Also Compare, Nearby Drugs

How to Read This diltiazem vs ranitidine Comparison

diltiazem is classified in the Calcium Channel Blocker drug class, while ranitidine sits within the H2 Receptor Antagonist class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are split between OTC and prescription status, which affects access and supervision.

Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, diltiazem has 12,668 submissions while ranitidine has 97,803. 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 ranitidine can cause a slight increase in diltiazem levels, though the change is usually not large enough to be dangerous.. 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 diltiazem or ranitidine.

Registry boundary: This comparison displays source-record fields and does not provide individualized medical direction.