Propranolol: Price, Dosage & Where to Buy

Propranolol is a beta blocker used mainly to manage high blood pressure and certain heart conditions. It is also prescribed to help prevent migraine and manage essential tremor. Propranolol requires a prescription in the United Kingdom and has been available as a generic medicine since 1985-10-22.

Propranolol is a beta blocker. It blocks the effects of adrenaline and other similar chemical signals at beta receptors in the heart and blood vessels. This reduces the heart's response to these signals.

As a result, the heart may beat more slowly and with less force, while blood pressure and the heart's workload can fall. These effects can help control a rapid heart rate and reduce the frequency of angina. By reducing some of the body's physical responses, propranolol can also help prevent migraine and reduce the size of essential tremor.

It does not remove the underlying cause of these conditions. The medicine also blocks beta receptors in the airways, which explains why it can cause bronchospasm in susceptible people.

Propranolol is used to manage high blood pressure. It can reduce the frequency of angina and improve exercise tolerance in people with angina linked to coronary artery disease. It can control the heart rate in atrial fibrillation when the heart response is rapid.

It is also used to reduce cardiovascular mortality in clinically stable people who have survived the acute phase of a myocardial infarction. Propranolol is used to prevent common migraine headaches, but the label does not indicate it for treating a migraine attack after it has started.

Other uses include managing familial or hereditary essential tremor, improving symptoms in symptomatic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis, and helping control blood pressure and symptoms from catecholamine-secreting tumours when used with alpha-adrenergic blockade. It is not indicated for hypertensive emergencies or tremor associated with Parkinsonism.

The label lists tablets of 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, 60 mg, and 80 mg. It also lists extended-release capsules of 60 mg, 80 mg, 120 mg, and 160 mg, oral solutions of 4.28 mg/mL, 20 mg/5 mL, and 40 mg/5 mL, and intravenous injections of 1 mg/mL.

The usual starting dose is 40 mg twice daily for hypertension and essential tremor. The label lists a usual maintenance dose of 120 mg to 240 mg per day for hypertension. The label lists 80 mg to 320 mg per day for angina, given in divided doses.

The label lists 10 mg to 30 mg three or four times daily for atrial fibrillation. The label lists 80 mg daily initially for migraine prevention, with a usual effective range of 160 mg to 240 mg per day.

The label lists 20 mg to 40 mg three or four times daily for hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. Doses should be individualised according to response, and discontinuation should be gradual.

Store at 20°C to 25°C in a well-closed, light-resistant container. Protect from light. Keep the medicine as directed on the label and away from children.

A missed dose can reduce the medicine's effect on blood pressure, heart rate, angina, migraine prevention, or tremor. General pharmacy advice is to take the missed dose when remembered unless it is nearly time for the next scheduled dose. A double dose should not be used to make up for a missed dose.

Regular treatment should not be stopped suddenly, because abrupt discontinuation can worsen angina and may cause other serious effects. A pharmacist or doctor can advise on the individual situation.

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Growth restriction within the womb, small placentas, and congenital abnormalities have been reported in babies whose mothers received propranolol during pregnancy. Babies exposed at childbirth have shown slow heart rate, low blood sugar, and breathing problems.

Propranolol should be used during pregnancy only when the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus. The label does not specify breastfeeding data, so this should be discussed with a doctor or pharmacist.