Valsartan
An angiotensin receptor blocker used for high blood pressure, heart failure and after a heart attack with a weak left ventricle.
Drug card
- How it works
- Blocking angiotensin II's AT1 receptor, so vessels relax
- Used for
- High blood pressure
- Heart failure, to cut hospital admissions
- Weak left ventricle after a heart attack
- Known for
- High potassium (hyperkalemia)
- Harm to the unborn baby (fetal toxicity)
- Its name
- -sartan means an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB)
Study it as a flashcard, and it comes back before you forget it.
Mechanism of action
How does valsartan work?
Valsartan blocks the AT1 receptor as taken, with no activation step; its main metabolite is almost inactive. Little of it is metabolized: most leaves unchanged in the feces, with a half-life of about 6 hours. It is also the ARB paired with sacubitril, a neprilysin inhibitor, in sacubitril/valsartan.
Like other angiotensin receptor blockers: They block the AT1 receptor, so angiotensin II can no longer narrow arterioles or drive aldosterone release: vessels relax, the kidneys keep less sodium, and potassium can rise. They act at the receptor rather than on ACE, so bradykinin does not build up and cough is far rarer than with ACE inhibitors, though angioedema can still occur.
Uses
What is valsartan used for?
- High blood pressure
- Heart failure, to cut hospital admissions
- Weak left ventricle after a heart attack
Side effects
Side effects of valsartan
- High potassium (hyperkalemia)Known forSerious
- Harm to the unborn baby (fetal toxicity)Known forSerious
- Dizziness
- Low blood pressure, mainly in heart failure
- Dizziness on standing (postural hypotension)
- Headache
- Tiredness
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Rising creatinine; kidney failure (rare)Serious
- Angioedema (rare)Serious
- Raised liver enzymes; hepatitis (very rare)Serious
Known for marks what an exam expects you to know it for.
Watch for
Cautions and what sets it apart
- Heart failure: watch for low blood pressure and rises in creatinine and potassium.
- It raises lithium levels and can cause lithium toxicity.
Good to know: The ARB partnered with sacubitril in sacubitril/valsartan for heart failure.
Remember it
A way to remember it
Block the lock, not the key-maker.
ACE inhibitors stop the enzyme that makes angiotensin II (the key); ARBs leave that enzyme alone and block the AT1 receptor (the lock). Bradykinin is not built up, so the ACE inhibitor cough is rare, and ARBs are the usual swap when that cough stops an ACE inhibitor.
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Its name
-sartan means angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB)
Sartans block the AT1 receptor for angiotensin II. Valsartan is also half of sacubitril/valsartan, which adds a neprilysin inhibitor.
- Every drug name stem
Its class
Angiotensin receptor blockers
Other angiotensin receptor blockers with a card:
Easily mixed up with ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors.
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
For learning pharmacology, not for treatment decisions: no doses are given, and a prescriber, pharmacist or the product's own label is the word on any one patient. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll correct it.
Blood pressure
Valsartan is one of 27 drugs practiced together here: their classes, how they work, what they treat and what they're known for.
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