Labetalol
About Labetalol
Labetalol is an oral prescription medication primarily used to treat high blood pressure. It works by relaxing blood vessels and slowing down the heart rate, making it easier for blood to flow throughout your body. This helps lower your blood pressure and reduces the workload on your heart.
For the best results, you should take Labetalol consistently at the same times every day, exactly as your doctor has directed. You can take this medication with or without food, but it is best to choose one way and stick to it with every dose. Adopting healthy lifestyle habits, such as eating a low-salt diet and getting regular physical activity, can also help improve your results.
While taking Labetalol, some people may experience mild side effects like dizziness, tiredness, or a stuffy nose. However, you must contact your doctor immediately if you experience serious symptoms like a very slow heart rate, severe dizziness, or signs of liver damage such as yellowing of your skin or eyes.
Before starting this medicine, talk to your doctor if you have a history of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or certain heart conditions like a very slow heart rate or heart failure. Do not take this if you have extremely low blood pressure, severe heart block, or uncontrolled heart failure.
This medicine can interact with alcohol, smoking, and other blood pressure medications, which may cause your blood pressure to drop too low or increase your risk of side effects. If you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding, or an older adult, talk to your doctor or pharmacist to ensure this medicine is safe for your specific situation.
Uses of Labetalol
• Treatment of Hypertension: Labetalol helps lower high blood pressure, reducing the risk of complications like stroke and heart attack and often prescribed for pregnancy-induced hypertension to ensure safe blood pressure levels.
• Management of Angina (Heart-Related Chest Pain): Labetalol improves blood flow to the heart, reducing chest pain caused by angina and helps prevent frequent angina attacks, allowing better physical activity.
• Prevention of Heart Attack and Stroke: Labetalol reduces strain on the heart by controlling blood pressure and also helps prevent long-term cardiovascular complications.
Medicinal Benefits
Labetalol helps manage high blood pressure by lowering and maintaining blood pressure within a healthy range. By reducing strain on the cardiovascular system, it supports long-term heart health and helps protect vital organs from hypertension-related damage.
- Helps Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure Levels: By effectively lowering elevated blood pressure, Labetalol helps reduce pressure on the heart and blood vessels, supporting stable blood pressure control.
- Supports Long-Term Heart, Brain, and Kidney Health: Consistent blood pressure control with Labetalol helps reduce the risk of complications such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney damage, promoting better long-term health.
- Reduces Strain on the Heart: By helping the heart pump blood more efficiently, Labetalol supports healthy cardiovascular function and contributes to improved overall physical wellbeing.
Directions for Use
- Take Labetalol with food as advised by a doctor.
- Labetalol is usually taken twice a day, in the morning and evening. However, follow your doctor's advice regarding the dosage and timing.
- Swallow it as a whole with a glass of water.
- Do not crush, chew, or break it.
Storage
Side Effects of Labetalol
Common Side Effects (Usually mild)
- Dizziness or lightheadedness, especially when standing up
- Tiredness or fatigue
- Nausea or mild upset stomach
- Stuffy or runny nose
Serious Side Effects (Consult a doctor right away)
- A very slow or uneven heartbeat
- Shortness of breath, wheezing, or difficulty breathing
- Signs of liver damage, such as yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, or severe stomach pain
- Severe dizziness, fainting, or swelling in your ankles or feet
- Signs of a severe allergic reaction, such as skin rash, itching, swelling of the face, lips, or throat, and difficulty breathing
Medicines Containing this Salt
View AllDrug Warnings
- Always inspect your tablet pack before use to ensure the tablets are intact, dry, and have not changed colour.
- Stand up slowly from a sitting or lying position to prevent dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting, especially when you first start taking this medicine.
- Regularly check your blood pressure and heart rate at home as advised by your doctor, and keep a log of your readings.
- Do not drive, operate machinery, or perform tasks that require alertness until you know how this medication affects you, as it can cause drowsiness or dizziness.
- Inform any doctor, dentist, or surgeon treating you that you are taking Labetalol before undergoing any medical procedures or receiving anaesthesia.
Drug Interactions
- Other blood pressure-lowering medicines: Taking Labetalol together with other antihypertensive medicines may cause your blood pressure to fall too low, leading to dizziness, light-headedness, or fainting. Your doctor may recommend closer blood pressure monitoring.
- Certain heart medicines (e.g., calcium channel blockers, digoxin): Combining these medicines with Labetalol may slow your heart rate excessively or affect heart conduction. Your doctor may monitor your heart rate and adjust treatment if necessary.
- Asthma medicines (e.g., bronchodilator inhalers): Labetalol may reduce the effectiveness of certain asthma inhalers, potentially making breathing difficulties worse. Inform your doctor if you have asthma or require regular inhaler therapy.
- Insulin and oral diabetes medicines: Labetalol can mask some warning signs of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), such as a rapid heartbeat or trembling, making it more difficult to recognise low blood sugar episodes. Regular blood glucose monitoring is recommended.
Drug-Drug Interactions Checker List:
Safety Advice
Alcohol
unsafeYou are recommended to avoid alcohol consumption while taking Labetalol to avoid unpleasant side-effects. Alcohol intake might interfere with the working of Labetalol.
Pregnancy
consult your doctorLabetalol belongs to pregnancy category C. Your doctor may prescribe Labetalol if the benefits outweigh the risks to treat high blood pressure during pregnancy when rapid control of blood pressure is necessary.
Breast Feeding
consult your doctorSmall amounts of Labetalol may pass into breastmilk. Please consult your doctor. Your doctor will decide whether Labetalol can be given to breastfeeding mothers or not.
Driving
unsafeLabetalol may cause dizziness, do not drive or operate heavy machinery if you feel dizzy.
Liver
consult your doctorDose adjustment may be needed. Please consult your doctor if you have liver impairment/liver disease or any concerns regarding this.
Kidney
consult your doctorDose adjustment may be needed. Please consult your doctor if you have kidney impairment/kidney disease or any concerns regarding this.
Children
unsafeLabetalol is not recommended for children, as efficacy and safety have not been established.
Habit Forming
Diet & Lifestyle Advise
- Reduce sodium intake: Limit your intake of salt, as excess sodium causes your body to hold onto water, which raises your blood pressure.
- Eat a heart-healthy diet: Choose foods rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins to support overall blood pressure management.
- Stay physically active: Engage in moderate exercise, like brisk walking, for at least 30 minutes most days of the week, after consulting your doctor.
- Limit alcohol and avoid smoking: Alcohol can interfere with blood pressure control, and nicotine damages blood vessels, increasing your risk of heart complications.
Special Advise
- Regularly monitor blood pressure levels to prevent hypotension (low blood pressure).
- Labetalol might interfere with certain laboratory test results and possibly cause false results such as raised liver function tests, antinuclear antibody blood tests, urine tests and MIBG scintigraphy (test to detect tumours). Inform the person doing the tests that you are taking Labetalol.
- Inform your surgeon ahead of time that you are taking Labetalol if you have any surgery requiring general anaesthesia or cataract surgery.
Patients Concern
Disease/Condition Glossary
High blood pressure (hypertension): It is a condition in which the blood exerts increased pressure on the walls of blood vessels leading to hypertension. This condition can lead to hardened arteries (blood vessels), decreasing the blood and oxygen flow to the heart. Raised blood pressure can cause chest pain (angina) and heart attack (when the blood supply to the heart is blocked). Additionally, high blood pressure also causes brain damage (stroke) and kidney failure. Symptoms of high blood pressure include headache, dizziness, nose bleed, changes in vision, chest pain, weakness and dyspnoea (shortness of breath). However, most of the time, the signs and symptoms of hypertension are none.
FAQs
Labetalol is used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). Additionally, Labetalol is used to control high blood pressure in pregnancy and during anaesthesia.
No. Do not stop taking Labetalol without consulting your doctor, even if your blood pressure is normal or you feel well. Stopping it suddenly may cause a rebound increase in blood pressure and, in some patients, serious heart problems such as chest pain or heart attack. If treatment needs to be stopped, your doctor will gradually reduce the dose.
Yes. Labetalol may cause postural (orthostatic) hypotension, which is a sudden drop in blood pressure when standing up and may lead to dizziness or lightheadedness. Stand up slowly from sitting or lying positions. If you feel dizzy, sit or lie down until the symptoms improve and contact your doctor if they are severe or persistent.
Yes. Labetalol may be used during pregnancy to treat high blood pressure when your doctor considers it appropriate. Controlling high blood pressure during pregnancy helps reduce the risk of complications for both the mother and baby. Always use this medicine only under medical supervision during pregnancy.
Labetalol may cause erectile dysfunction (impotence), ejaculation problems and difficulty obtaining or maintaining an erection. Please consult your doctor if you have any concerns regarding these.
Inform your doctor if you have type-1 or type-2 diabetes mellitus. If you are diabetic, you should monitor your blood glucose levels regularly because Labetalol might mask the symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels).
Labetalol might affect pupils during cataract surgery and might mask the effects of sudden blood loss, so inform the surgeon ahead of time that you are taking Labetalol if you are due to have cataract surgery. This will help the doctor to manage the complications in advance, which could occur during the surgery.
Multivitamins and minerals may lower the effect of Labetalol when taken together. If your doctor has prescribed multivitamins and minerals, maintain a minimum gap of 2 hours between both.
Labetalol works by blocking the receptors in the cardiovascular system; this helps in decreasing the blood pressure in the blood vessels. Labetalol helps the heart to beat slower with less force, relaxes, and widens the blood vessels, this makes it easier for the heart to pump blood to all parts of the body. Thereby, helps in lowering the blood pressure to normal.
Labetalol may cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, swelling, drowsiness, dizziness and headache in some people. However, if these side effects persist or worsen, please inform your doctor.
Labetalol is generally considered safe if used as advised by the doctor. During the first few weeks of treatment with Labetalol, side effects may occur which disappear with time.
Labetalol lowers heart rate. Therefore, during treatment with Labetalol, your doctor may regularly check your blood pressure and pulse (heart rate) to determine your response to Labetalol.
Your doctor may recommend you to stop taking Labetalol for 24 hours before surgery as it may cause too low blood pressure when it is combined with some anesthetics. Therefore, inform your doctor that you are taking Labetalol if you are scheduled for any kind of major surgery or are going to be put to sleep using a general anesthetic.
Taking more than the recommended dose of Labetalol can may cause low blood pressure and slow heart rate, low blood sugar or difficulty breathing, which can cause sweating or confusion. If you have taken more than the recommended dose, contact your doctor immediately.
Yes, feeling tired or fatigued is a common side effect of Labetalol, especially when you first start taking it. This often improves over time as your body adjusts to the medicine. Talk to your doctor if the tiredness is severe or does not go away.
It is best to avoid or strictly limit alcohol while taking Labetalol. Alcohol can increase the blood pressure-lowering effect of the medicine, which may make you feel very dizzy or lightheaded. Talk to your doctor for personalised advice.
Significant weight gain is not a common side effect of Labetalol. If you experience sudden weight gain or swelling in your ankles or feet, contact your doctor, as this could be a sign of fluid buildup or heart issues.
Many over-the-counter cold, flu, or decongestant medications contain ingredients that can raise blood pressure. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new over-the-counter medicines while on Labetalol.
Author Details
