sotalol vs verapamil
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Side-by-side comparison of sotalol 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
7.2 Negative Chronotropes Digitalis glycosides, diltiazem, verapamil, and beta-blockers slow atrioventricular conduction and decrease heart rate.
Sotalol is a medicine that helps keep your heart beating regularly. It can treat dangerous fast heartbeats and help prevent irregular heartbeats from coming back.
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.
Sotalol is used to treat life-threatening fast heartbeats in the lower chambers of the heart. It is also used to help keep a normal heart rhythm in people with atrial fibrillation or flutter, which are types of irregular heartbeats in the upper chambers of the heart. Sotalol is for people who have very bothersome symptoms from their atrial fibrillation or flutter.
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.
Sotalol works by slowing down the electrical signals in your heart. It has two actions: it blocks beta receptors (like a beta-blocker) and it prolongs the action potential duration in the heart. This helps to stabilize your heart rhythm and prevent irregular heartbeats.
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.
- • Feeling tired
- • Slow heart rate (less than 50 bpm)
- • Shortness of breath
- • New or worsening irregular heartbeats
- • Weakness
- • Constipation
- • Shortness of breath
- • Dizziness
- • Slow heart rate (less than 50 beats per minute)
- • Nausea
- Atrial Fibrillation 1,179
- Dyspnoea 912
- Fatigue 868
- Dizziness 734
- Diarrhoea 721
- Dyspnoea 356
- Nausea 341
- Drug Interaction 316
- Dizziness 286
- Hypotension 280
Sotalol can cause life-threatening irregular heartbeats. To lower this risk, you will start or restart sotalol in a hospital where your heart can be monitored. If your QT interval (a measure on your heart tracing) gets too long (500 msec or greater), your doctor may lower your dose or stop the medicine. Your doctor will check your kidney function to decide the right dose for you.
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.
Sotalol can harm your unborn baby, so talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Sotalol can pass into breast milk and may harm a nursing infant, so do not breastfeed while taking sotalol.
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 sotalol vs verapamil Comparison
sotalol is classified in the Class III Antiarrhythmic / Beta-Blocker 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, sotalol has 4,414 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 these drugs both work to slow your heart rate and the speed of electrical signals in the heart.. 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 sotalol or verapamil.
Registry boundary: This comparison displays source-record fields and does not provide individualized medical direction.