Atenolol is a prescription medication primarily used for cardiovascular conditions, including controlling high blood pressure, preventing angina, treating congestive heart failure and irregular heartbeat, and improving the chances of surviving a heart attack. Atenolol also is useful for people who have glaucoma and for some who get migraine headaches. Atenolol may interact with calcium, so consult your doctor before taking calcium supplements if you use this medication.
Atenolol
Atenolol is classified as a beta blocker agent; it blocks effects of the hormone adrenaline. This relaxes blood vessels, slows the heart rate and allows the heart to beat with less force. Atenolol interacts with several substances, including calcium channel blocker medications, which are also used for controlling high blood pressure, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen. The U.S. National Library of Medicine website PubMed Health does not list an interaction between atenolol and calcium specifically, but it does recommend informing your doctor about all supplement usage.
Possible Interaction
Drugs.com lists a moderate interaction between calcium and atenolol, citing a study in which a group of participants taking 500 mg of calcium in various forms experienced a 51 percent reduction in the average peak plasma concentration of atenolol. Twelve hours after the participants took both substances, the beta blocker effects on the heart during exercise were found to be reduced.
Inconclusive Results
Research results are mixed on whether taking calcium with atenolol or other beta blockers interferes with blood levels of the medicine or the supplement, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Drugs.com notes that in the cited study, after four weeks of taking both atenolol and calcium, the participants did not have reduced beta blocker effects on their blood pressure control. Calcium appeared to not only decrease the average peak plasma concentration of atenolol, it also prolonged the time of elimination of the drug from the body, which may have compensated for the negative interaction.
Prevention
The authoritative websites do not mention calcium-containing foods as being a potential problem with atenolol, but only calcium salts such as calcium carbonate and calcium gluconate. In addition to multivtamins with minerals and stand-alone calcium supplements, calcium also is included in many antacid products. It may help to avoid taking atenolol and calcium within two hours of each other, according to Drugs.com. Ask your doctor about combining these two substances before taking calcium with atenolol.
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