Summary
Amiloride, sold under the trade name Midamor among others, is a medication typically used with other medications to treat high blood pressure or swelling due to heart failure or cirrhosis of the liver. Amiloride is classified as a potassium-sparing diuretic. Amiloride is often used together with another diuretic, such as a thiazide or loop diuretic. It is taken by mouth. Onset of action is about two hours and it lasts for about a day. Common side effects include high blood potassium, vomiting, loss of appetite, rash, and headache. The risk of high blood potassium is greater in those with kidney problems, diabetes, and those who are older. Amiloride blocks the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) in the late distal tubule, connecting tubule, and collecting duct of the nephron, which both reduces absorption of sodium ion from the lumen of the nephron and reduces excretion of potassium ion into the lumen. Amiloride was developed in 1967. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Amiloride may be used in combination with a thiazide diuretic for treatment of high blood pressure or (less commonly) in combination with a loop diuretic for treatment of heart failure. The potassium-sparing effects of amiloride offset the low blood potassium (hypokalemia) that is often induced by thiazides or loop diuretics, which is of particular importance in people for whom maintaining a normal level of potassium is critically important. For example, people that are taking Digitalis (i.e. digoxin) are at higher risk for changes in heart rhythm if their potassium levels get too high. The 2017 clinical practice guidelines of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines list amiloride as a "secondary" oral antihypertensive, with minimal efficacy. For people with resistant hypertension, already taking a thiazide diuretic, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-i) or an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), and a calcium channel blocker, the addition of amiloride (or spironolactone) was better at reducing blood pressure than adding a beta-blocker (bisoprolol) or an alpha-1 blocker (doxazosin).
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.