Nif-Ten® (atenolol/nifedipine)
Alternative brand (trade) names: Tenif and Tenordate.
What is Nif-Ten® ?
Nif-Ten is a combination containing two medicines: the beta-blocker atenolol and the calcium-channel blocker nifedipine, which are provided in one capsule.
What is Nif-Ten® used for?
Nif-Ten is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) and/or angina (chest pain caused by too little oxygen reaching the heart muscle).
How does Nif-Ten® work ?
Nif-Ten combines two medicines that have different ways of working (modes of action). Doctors know that this leads to a greater lowering of blood pressure in some people than with either medicine used alone.
Atenolol (see Tenormin) belongs to a group of medicines called beta-blockers. It has an effect on the heart by blocking the action of chemicals called noradrenaline, (released from nerves in the heart) and adrenaline (carried in the blood), which control its rate and rhythm of beating. By stopping these chemicals from attaching (binding) to sites (beta-receptors) in the heart, atenolol produces its effects:
- It interferes with the action of the nervous system on the heart and reduces the rate and force of heart muscle contraction and lowers blood pressure.
- By reducing the heart rate and the force of muscle contraction, atenolol reduces the need of heart muscle for oxygen (demand). Because angina occurs when oxygen demand of the heart exceeds supply, atenolol is helpful in treating angina.
Nifedipine belongs to a group of medicines called calcium-channel blockers.
- These medicines block the transport of calcium, via holes called channels, into the smooth muscle cells lining the heart blood vessels and other blood vessels of the body.
- Since calcium is important in muscle contraction, blocking calcium transport relaxes the muscles of the blood vessels and makes them wider.
- By relaxing the blood vessels of the heart, nifedipine is useful in treating and preventing chest pain (angina) resulting from coronary artery narrowing due to spasm.
- Relaxing the muscles lining the blood vessels of the rest of the body lowers the blood pressure. Reducing heart burden lessens the heart muscle's demand for oxygen, and further helps to prevent angina in patients with coronary artery disease.
How is Nif-Ten® given ?
Nif-Ten is supplied as capsules.
It is very important to take medicines like Nif-Ten as often as your doctor has told you to, even if you do not feel ill.
This is because heart and blood pressure problems, if not treated, can get progressively worse.
It is also important to follow any lifestyle instructions that your doctor has given to you, like trying to give up smoking, reducing your weight, doing more exercise and eating a healthy diet.
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