felodipine vs nisoldipine
Side-by-side comparison of felodipine and nisoldipine Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
Plendil
Sular
Felodipine is a drug that lowers your blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks.
Nisoldipine is a medicine to treat high blood pressure. It belongs to a class of drugs called calcium channel blockers.
Felodipine treats high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering your blood pressure helps prevent strokes and heart attacks. It's important to also manage other risk factors like cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking. You may need more than one medicine to control your blood pressure.
Nisoldipine extended-release tablets are used to treat high blood pressure. You can take them alone or with other blood pressure medicines. Lowering your blood pressure can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Felodipine is a calcium channel blocker. It works by relaxing and widening your blood vessels. This makes it easier for blood to flow, which lowers blood pressure.
Nisoldipine blocks calcium from entering certain cells. This helps to relax and widen blood vessels. As a result, blood can flow more easily, which lowers blood pressure.
- • Swelling in your ankles or feet
- • Headache
- • Flushing (redness of face)
- • Feeling tired
- • Swelling in your legs or ankles
- • Headache
- • Dizziness
- • Sore throat
- • Flushing
- Feeling tired 1,050
- Difficulty breathing 953
- Feeling lightheaded 946
- Loose stools 846
- Feeling sick to your stomach 846
- Feeling sick to your stomach 88
- The medicine is not working 79
- Feeling lightheaded or unsteady 77
- Pain in your head 76
- Feeling very tired 74
If you take certain medicines like ketoconazole, itraconazole, or erythromycin, talk to your doctor. These drugs can greatly increase the amount of felodipine in your blood, leading to unwanted effects. Also, if you take anticonvulsants like phenytoin, carbamazepine, or phenobarbital, felodipine may not work as well.
If you are allergic to dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers, you should not take this medicine.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if felodipine will harm your unborn baby. Talk to your doctor about breastfeeding while taking felodipine.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if nisoldipine will harm your unborn baby or pass into breast milk.
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How to Read This felodipine vs nisoldipine Comparison
felodipine is classified in the Calcium Channel Blocker drug class, while nisoldipine sits within the Calcium Channel Blocker class. Because both drugs share the same classification, they are often considered interchangeable in theory — but clinical outcomes rarely track that cleanly. 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, felodipine has 4,641 submissions while nisoldipine has 394. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume — not per-patient risk — so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. No direct interaction between these two drugs is listed in our FDA-derived dataset, though co-prescription still warrants pharmacist review. 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 felodipine and nisoldipine — 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.