Can i take exforge instead of clonidine? Are they similar medicines?

9 Aug 2009

Although they are both used to treat hypertension they work very differently.

Clonidine is an alpha agonist. It works by relaxing blood vessels and decreasing heart rate, which lowers blood pressure.

Exforge contains a combination of amlodipine and valsartan. Amlodipine is in a group of drugs called calcium channel blockers. It works by relaxing the muscles of your heart and blood vessels. Valsartan is in a group of drugs called angiotensin II receptor antagonists. Valsartan keeps blood vessels from narrowing, which lowers blood pressure and improves blood flow. Exforge is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) and is usually given after other medicines have been tried without successful treatment of hypertension.

Talk to your doctor and he/she can decide which is best for you.

9 Aug 2009

As the first reply says, they are very different. I would stick to clonidine, just to be safe.

Brandon