What Is Isradipine Used For?

Isradipine is used for controlling high blood pressure in adults. By slowing down the rate at which calcium moves into your heart and blood vessel walls, the medication can help lower blood pressure and allow better blood flow. Healthcare providers may also occasionally recommend off-label isradipine uses, such as for the treatment of chest pain.

 

What Is Isradipine Used For? -- An Overview

Isradipine (Dynacirc®) is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension).
 
A blood pressure reading consists of two numbers -- for example, 120/80. The top number is known as the systolic blood pressure, and the bottom number is the diastolic blood pressure. High blood pressure is defined as an average blood pressure higher than 140/90 with multiple blood pressure readings.
 
Based on clinical studies, isradipine has been shown to significantly lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. By lowering blood pressure, the drug can decrease the risk of developing health problems (such as a stroke, heart disease, or congestive heart failure) that occur with long-term high blood pressure (see Effects of High Blood Pressure). Isradipine is not a cure for high blood pressure, however.
 

How Isradipine Works

Isradipine is part of a class of drugs called
 calcium channel blockers. It helps slow down the rate at which calcium moves into your heart and blood vessel walls. This, in turn, helps to relax the vessels, which allows better blood flow and helps to lower blood pressure. It also makes it easier for the heart to pump blood.
 
There are two basic types of calcium channel blockers: dihydropyridine and non-dihydropyridine. The most important difference between the two is that non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers can slow down the heart rate, while dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers do not. Isradipine is a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, which means that it does not usually decrease the heart rate.
 
(What Is Isradipine Used For? Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;