Clevidipine

Clevidipine is a prescription medication used to lower high blood pressure. Clevidipine belongs to a group of drugs called calcium channel blockers. These work by relaxing the blood vessels so the heart does not have to pump as hard. It also increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.

This medication comes in an injectable form to be given directly into a vein (IV) by a healthcare professional.

Common side effects of clevidipine include headache, nausea, and vomiting.

Clevidipine is a prescription medication used to lower blood pressure when an oral (by mouth) medication is not an option.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Clevidipine may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Cleviprex

Serious side effects have been reported with clevidipine. See the “Clevidipine Precautions” section.

Common side effects of clevidipine include:

• headache
• nausea
• vomiting

This is not a complete list of clevidipine side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

No drug interactions have been studied by the manufacturer of clevidipine. However, you should tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Not all drug interactions are known or reported and new drug interactions are continually being reported.

Serious side effects have been reported with cleividipine, including:

• perioperative hypertension (high blood pressure)
• severe hypertension
• acute renal failure
• atrial fibrillation

Do not take clevidipine if you:

• are allergic to clevidipine or to any of its ingredients
• are allergic to soybeans, soy products, eggs, or egg products
• have defective lipid metabolism
• have severe aortic stenosis

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of clevidipine, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before taking clevidipine, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:

• are allergic to clevidipine or to any of its ingredients
• have a lipid metabolism disorder
• have heart failure
• have kidney problems
• have liver problems
• are taking a beta-blocker such atenolol (Tenormin), labetalol (Normodyne), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard), and propranolol (Inderal)
• are pregnant or breastfeeding

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X - are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Clevidipine falls into category C. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

It is not known if clevidipine crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using clevidipine.

Take clevidipine exactly as prescribed.

This medication comes in an injectable form to be given directly into a vein (IV) by a healthcare professional.

If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take 2 doses of clevidipine at the same time.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The dose your doctor recommends may be based on the following:

• other medical conditions you have
• other medications you are taking
• how you respond to this medication

​The recommended initial dose of clevidipine for the treatment of high blood pressure is 1-2 mg/hour. The dose may be increased until the desired blood pressure is reached. Therapeutic response is usually achieved at doses of 4-6 mg/hr.

If you take too much clevidipine, call your healthcare provider or local Poison Control Center, or seek emergency medical attention right away.

If clevidipine is administered by a healthcare provider in a medical setting, it is unlikely that an overdose will occur. However, if overdose is suspected, seek emergency medical attention.

• Keep this and all medications out of the reach of children.