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Usage: Atenolol is in a group of drugs called beta-blockers. Beta-blockers affect the heart and circulation (blood flow through arteries and veins). Atenolol is used to treat angina (chest pain) and hypertension (high blood pressure). It is also used to treat or prevent heart attack.
Directions: Take Atenolol exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts or for longer than recommended by your doctor. Take this medication with a full glass of water. Take Atenolol at the same time every day. Do not skip doses or stop taking Atenolol without first talking to your doctor. Stopping suddenly may make your condition worse. To be sure this medication is helping your condition, your blood pressure will need to be checked on a regular basis. It is important that you not miss any scheduled visits to your doctor. If you need to have any type of surgery, tell the surgeon that you are using Atenolol. You may need to briefly stop using Atenolol before having surgery. Atenolol is only part of a complete program of treatment for hypertension that may also include diet, exercise, and weight control. Follow your diet, medication, and exercise routines very closely if you are being treated for hypertension. Hypertension often has no symptoms, so you may not even feel that you have high blood pressure. Continue using this medicine as directed, even if you feel well. You may need to use blood pressure medication for the rest of your life.
Side Effects: Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects: slow or uneven heartbeats, feeling light-headed, fainting, feeling short of breath, even with mild exertion, swelling of your ankles or feet, nausea, stomach pain, low fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), depression or cold feeling in your hands and feet. Other less serious side effects are more likely to occur, such as: decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm, sleep problems (insomnia), tired feeling or anxiety, nervousness.
Precautions: Atenolol can cause side effects that may impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be awake and alert. Avoid drinking alcohol, which could increase drowsiness and dizziness while you are taking Atenolol.
Drug Interactions: Before taking Atenolol, tell your doctor if you are using: allergy treatments (or if you are undergoing allergy skin-testing), clonidine (Catapres), guanabenz (Wytensin), an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), or selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), a diabetes medication such as insulin, glyburide (Diabeta, Micronase, Glynase), glipizide (Glucotrol), chlorpropamide (Diabinese), or metformin (Glucophage), a heart medication such as nifedipine (Procardia, Adalat), reserpine (Serpasil), verapamil (Calan, Verelan, Isoptin), diltiazem (Cartia, Cardizem), medicine for asthma or other breathing disorders, such as albuterol (Ventolin, Proventil), bitolterol (Tornalate), metaproterenol (Alupent), pirbuterol (Maxair), terbutaline (Brethaire, Brethine, Bricanyl), and theophylline (Theo-Dur, Theolair) or cold medicines, stimulant medicines, or diet pills. If you are using any of these drugs, you may not be able to take Atenolol, or you may need dosage adjustments or special tests during treatment.
If You Take Too Much: Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. Symptoms of an Atenolol overdose may include uneven heartbeats, shortness of breath, bluish-colored fingernails, dizziness, weakness, fainting, or seizure (convulsions).
Missed Dose: Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If your next dose is less than 8 hours away, skip the the missed dose and take the medicine at the next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
Storage: Store Atenolol at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
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