Rivastigmine and Atenolol Interaction
Drug interaction information between Rivastigmine and Atenolol.
Rivastigmine and Atenolol have a documented minor interaction in FDA labeling.
FDA drug labeling documents a minor-severity interaction between Rivastigmine and Atenolol. Major interactions are generally avoided, moderate ones may need monitoring or a dose adjustment, and minor ones are usually low-risk. This page shows the documented mechanism and guidance. Label-documented interactions are not a complete safety review, so always confirm your own medications with a pharmacist or doctor. Educational information, not medical advice.
How They Interact
Both of these medicines can slow your heart rate. Taking them at the same time might cause your heart to beat too slowly or make you faint.
What To Do
Watch for dizziness or fainting and have your doctor check your heart rate regularly.
FDA Label Information
7.3 Beta-blockers Additive bradycardic effects resulting in syncope may occur when rivastigmine tartrate is used concomitantly with beta-blockers, especially cardioselective beta-blockers (including atenolol).
Rivastigmine Also Interacts With
- Metoclopramide moderate
- Oxybutynin minor
- Tolterodine minor
Atenolol Also Interacts With
- Aspirin major
- Theophylline major
- Clonidine minor
- Amiodarone minor
- Epinephrine minor
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take Rivastigmine and Atenolol together?
This is a minor interaction. Watch for dizziness or fainting and have your doctor check your heart rate regularly.
How serious is the interaction between Rivastigmine and Atenolol?
This interaction is classified as "minor" severity by the FDA. Minor interactions are unlikely to cause significant problems but should still be mentioned to your healthcare provider.
Why do Rivastigmine and Atenolol interact?
Both of these medicines can slow your heart rate. Taking them at the same time might cause your heart to beat too slowly or make you faint.
Understanding the Rivastigmine and Atenolol Interaction
FDA-approved prescribing information for these two drugs flags their combination as a minor-severity interaction. Rivastigmine belongs to the Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor class and Atenolol belongs to the Beta-1 Selective Blocker class - two categories that can collide when co-prescribed. The mechanism described in FDA labeling is: Both of these medicines can slow your heart rate. Severity tiers matter: major flags generally advise avoidance, moderate flags often require monitoring or dose adjustment, and minor flags may only call for awareness.
Context around a specific patient determines real-world impact. Rivastigmine has 4 total documented interactions on file in this dataset, and Atenolol has 14. Each additional medication compounds the interaction surface, which is why pharmacists run full-profile checks rather than evaluating one pair at a time. FDA-derived guidance for this pair is: Watch for dizziness or fainting and have your doctor check your heart rate regularly. Timing of doses, renal and hepatic function, age, and other concurrent prescriptions all shape whether a labeled interaction matters clinically.
An interaction flag is not a verdict. A large share of labeled interactions are managed routinely in clinical practice, the fix may be as simple as spacing doses or adding a monitoring test. Others require the prescriber to choose a different medication entirely. This page surfaces FDA-sourced labeling and openFDA data for educational purposes only; it is not medical advice and cannot account for your full clinical picture. Never start, stop, or adjust either Rivastigmine or Atenolol based on a web page, speak with your prescriber or pharmacist before making any change.
Sources: FDA Drug Labels (SPL) via openFDA (2026). This is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about drug interactions.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.