Medications for Heart Disease

Most people with heart disease will be taking at least one medication to control it. There are many different medications used to treat heart disease including aldosterone antagonists, alpha blockers, alpha-beta blockers, anticoagulants, antiplatelets, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin 2 receptor blockers (ARBs), beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, and digoxin. Examples include:

• Aldosterone antagonists:
  • eplerenone (Inspra).
• Alpha blockers:
  • doxazosin (Cardura)
  • prazosin (Minipress).
• Alpha-beta blockers:
  • carvedilol (Coreg)
  • labetalol (Trandate).
• Anticoagulants:
  • apixaban (Eliquis)
  • dabigatran (Pradaxa)
  • edoxaban (Savaysa)
  • enoxaparin (Lovenox)
  • heparin
  • rivaroxaban (Xarelto)
  • warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven).
• Antiplatelet agents:
  • aspirin
  • clopidogrel (Plavix)
  • dipyridamole (Persantine)
  • prasugrel (Effient)
  • ticagrelor (Brilinta).
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors:
  • benazepril (Lotensin)
  • captopril (Capoten)
  • enalapril (Vasotec)
  • fosinopril (Monopril)
  • lisinopril (Prinivil)
  • moexipril (Univasc)
  • perindopril (Aceon)
  • quinapril (Accupril)
  • ramipril (Altace)
  • trandolapril (Mavik).
• Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers (ARBs):
  • azilsartan (Edarbi)
  • candesartan (Atacand)
  • eprosartan (Teveten)
  • irbesartan (Avapro)
  • losartan (Cozaar)
  • olmesartan (Benicar)
  • valsartan (Diovan).
• Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs)
  • sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto).
• Beta blockers:
  • acebutolol (Sectral)
  • atenolol (Tenormin)
  • betaxolol (Kerlone)
  • bisoprolol (Zebeta)
  • bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide (Ziac)
  • metoprolol (Toprol-XL)
  • nadolol (Corgard)
  • propranolol (Inderal LA)
  • sotalol (Betapace).
• Calcium channel blockers:
  • amlodipine (Norvasc)
  • diltiazem (Cardizem)
  • felodipine (Plendil)
  • nifedipine (Procardia)
  • nimodipine (Nymalize)
  • nisoldipine (Sular)
  • verapamil (Verelan).
• Central-acting agents:
  • clonidine (Catapres)
  • methyldopa.
• Cholesterol-lowering medications:
  • Statins, such as atorvastatin (Atorvaliq, Lipitor), fluvastatin (Lescol), lovastatin (Altoprev), pitavastatin (Livalo), pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor), and simvastatin (Zocor)
  • Nicotinic acids, such as niacin
  • Cholesterol absorption inhibitors, such as ezetimibe (Zetia)
  • Combination agents, such as ezetimibe/simvastatin (Vytorin) and ezetimibe/rosuvastatin (Roszet).
• Digoxin (Digitek)
• Diuretics (water pills):
  • Thiazide diuretics (hydrochlorothiazide [HCTZ])
  • Loop diuretics (furosemide [Lasix])
  • Potassium-sparing diuretics (spironolactone [Aldactone]).
• Renin inhibitors:
  • aliskiren (Tekturna).
• Vasodilators:
  • hydralazine (Apresoline)
  • isosorbide dinitrate (Isochron)
  • isosorbide mononitrate (Imdur)
  • nitroglycerin sublingual (NitroStat)
  • minoxidil.

Always talk to your doctor about which medications are best for you.