Chlorthalidone Brand names: Hemiclor, Thalitone; first approved as Hygroton

What is chlorthalidone used for?

From the label: indications and usage

Diuretics such as chlorthalidone are indicated in the management of hypertension either as the sole therapeutic agent or to enhance the effect of other antihypertensive drugs in the more severe forms of hypertension. Chlorthalidone is indicated as adjunctive therapy in edema associated with congestive heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis, and corticosteroid and estrogen therapy. Chlorthalidone has also been found useful in edema due to various forms of renal dysfunction, such as nephrotic syndrome, acute glomerulonephritis, and chronic renal failure. Usage in Pregnancy The routine use of diuretics in an otherwise healthy woman is inappropriate and exposes mother and fetus to unnecessary hazard. […]

Conditions named in the indications of chlorthalidone's FDA labels, with every medicine labeled for each:

• High blood pressure
• Heart failure
• Edema (fluid retention)

From other chlorthalidone labels

High blood pressure: INDICATIONS AND USAGE Diuretics such as chlorthalidone are indicated in the management of hypertension either as the sole therapeutic agent or to enhance the effect of other antihypertensive drugs in the more severe forms of hypertension.

Edema (fluid retention): Chlorthalidone is indicated in pregnancy when edema is due to pathologic causes, just as it is in the absence of pregnancy (however, see PRECAUTIONS, below).

FDA pharmacologic class: Thiazide-like Diuretic.

Is there a generic for chlorthalidone (Hygroton)?

The FDA approved the first generic chlorthalidone on February 26, 1981. 47 generic applications are approved; 18 of them carry a current (not discontinued) marketing status in Drugs@FDA; that status is not evidence that the generic is on sale.

FDA's NDC Directory lists chlorthalidone from 36 labelers under a generic (ANDA) application and from 2 brand labelers. A listing means the company has registered the product for sale; it does not show that every pharmacy stocks it.

The Orange Book lists no patent for Hygroton tablets; a patent listed only for Hemiclor tablets runs to September 4, 2045. A patent or exclusivity date is not the date a generic goes on sale: court cases and settlements move it either way.

What do pharmacies pay for chlorthalidone (Hygroton)?

In CMS's NADAC survey of October 7, 2026, pharmacies paid $0.0743 per Chlorthalidone 25 mg tablet, down 12% from $0.0847 on October 8, 2025. Prices per unit in the table differ many-fold by strength, form and brand, so compare like with like. The chart's scale runs from the lowest to the highest price shown, not from zero. NADAC is what retail pharmacies paid their wholesalers, per unit, in CMS's monthly survey; what a patient pays depends on insurance and the pharmacy.

Has chlorthalidone been recalled?

The FDA's Enforcement Report lists 7 recalls naming chlorthalidone since 2013: 0 Class I (the most serious), 7 Class II, 0 Class III; 3 still ongoing. 2 of them are by firms that FDA's NDC Directory does not list as a maker of chlorthalidone and that hold no application for it in Drugs@FDA, such as compounding pharmacies or bulk-ingredient suppliers; the recall notice names the product recalled. A recall names products and lots, not every product of the medicine.

What does the chlorthalidone label say about other medicines?

The chlorthalidone label names 1 other medicine in its interaction, contraindication or warning sections. The labels of 2 other medicines name chlorthalidone. The sentences are the labels' own; a label lists what its studies and reports found, not every interaction.

Check chlorthalidone against other medicines

What do FAERS reports show for chlorthalidone?

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System holds 11,545 reports that list chlorthalidone among the medicines taken, through July 30, 2026, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 690 are coded as a death and 3,715 as a hospital stay. Counts follow how widely a medicine is used and watched, and they are not a measure of how risky it is.

Reports received each year

• 672
• 615
• 785
• 953
• 887
• 951
• 1,064
• 1,009
• 1,055
• 1,129
• 469

• 2016
• 2017
• 2018
• 2019
• 2020
• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• 2024
• 2025
• 2026

The most reported reactions

• Fatigue (named in the label)908
• Nausea (named in the label)741
• Drug Ineffective (a use or a product term, not a reaction)736
• Diarrhoea (named in the label)687
• Dizziness (named in the label)589
• Pain562
• Off Label Use (a use or a product term, not a reaction)544
• Headache (named in the label)542

Side effects: the label's list and every FAERS reaction

What else is labeled for the same conditions as chlorthalidone?

77 other medicines are given the same way (oral) and in the same FDA class as chlorthalidone or labeled mainly for the same use (high blood pressure), the same class first. High blood pressure lists all 88 medicines labeled for it, by any route. The first 8 are below. They are listed as records, not as substitutes: whether one can replace another is a prescriber's decision.

Every medicine labeled for the same conditions as chlorthalidone

How does chlorthalidone compare with medicines for the same use?

11 side-by-side pages set chlorthalidone beside a medicine whose label shares a use: approvals, generics, pharmacy cost, warnings and supply.

• Amlodipine
• Furosemide
• Hydrochlorothiazide
• Indapamide
• Lisinopril
• Losartan
• Metolazone
• Metoprolol
• Spironolactone
• Telmisartan
• Torsemide

What next?

Alternatives to chlorthalidone

77 medicines for the same use

Other thiazide-like diuretics

the pharmacologic class, with prices and generics

Chlorthalidone side effects

the label's list beside FAERS reports

Check an interaction

what two or more labels say about each other