What alternatives are there to Metoprolol and Valsartan?

[Motida]

My brother of 79 living in a village in Calif. saw a cardio who prescribed metoprolol 50.mg a day and Valsartan 80 mg.

This village has no GPs and you have to drive 30 miles to see anyone. If there is an emergency the fire brigade come out with a paramedic, who decides if you need to go to hospital, that's if your insurance runs to that. I am only mentioning this to indicate how bad things are over there.

He tried to take these tablets and the side affects made him quite ill, with sleepless nights and nightmares. He lives alone and his muscles hurt too much to walk his dog even.

The district nurse advised him to stop taking them or reduce the dosage. However the Cardio told him this week that he must persist with the dosages otherwise his heart wont pump properly. He sent me the notes he was given by the Cardio which are too technical for a lay person and they do it on purpose it seems. We tried to unscramble the terminology but it is hard.

In the USA it is hard to access information and talk to consultants like we can in UK, so I said I would try and see what other meds he could ask for.

Just wondered if there are any suggestions or ideas I could pass on to him. He had AF which stopped with ablation and some stents put in some years ago. He eats healthily within his limited pension income and I help as his elder sister as much as I can.

Thanks

[bluemoon572]

The sleep disturbance is more likely from the beta blocker, metoprolol. Diovan can cause high potassium levels and some kidney dysfunction. I'd hope the cardiologist would agree to lowering the metoprolol dose. Sleepless nights are detrimental for such a patient.

[Motida in reply to bluemoon572]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions which I have forwarded to my brother. I am new to this site, and wonder if the BHF has a specialist who oversees the queries coming in and ever comments? Or do they have a data base of common questions that one can refer to at all?

Thanks again

[Sb1171]

Beta blockers can disrupt melatonin production which can affect sleep. Nebivolol is one that does not have such an effect and might be an alternative your brother could ask the doctor about. I don’t know if there might be a reason that metoprolol would be preferred for his conditions though.

[Alison_L]

Hi Motida. I take Carvedilol and Candesartan, which are sister drugs to those your brother has been given, but I’m in the UK, so they may not be available over the pond.

[polenta]

I have been on valsartin 80 mg for the past 10 years and was told to take at bed time to keep the side effects if any to a minimum. I havent had any. Take care

[Rambler398]

Hello Motida

Has there been any discussion about your brother talking an anticoagulant for stroke prevention?