Valsartan Risks, Warnings, and Complications

Precautions Before Starting Valsartan

Tell your doctor if you are allergic to valsartan, any of the active or inactive ingredients in valsartan tablets or liquid, or any other drugs. Your pharmacy can give you a list of ingredients.

Give your doctor a complete medical history. Valsartan may not be right for people with certain medical conditions such as blockage of the bile duct, heart disease, kidney disease, or severe liver impairment.

Give your doctor and pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, supplements, and herbal products. This can help avoid possible drug interactions.

Specifically, tell your doctor if you are taking a medication called aliskiren (Tekturna, Tekamlo, Tekturna HCT, Amturnide) which is prescribed to patients with diabetes (high blood sugar). You should not take valsartan if you have diabetes and are on aliskiren.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, could be pregnant, are planning a pregnancy, or are breastfeeding.

Precautions During Use of Valsartan

Keep all your doctors’ and laboratory appointments during treatment with valsartan. Your doctor may want to monitor you for side effects or recommend a dosage reduction or increase based on your response to the medicine. They may also want to order certain blood tests while you’re on this medicine. 

Valsartan can lower blood pressure and cause dizziness or lightheadedness, especially when rising from a sitting or lying position. Get up slowly and rest your feet on the ground for a few minutes before standing up to prevent this from happening. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how this medicine affects you. 

Diarrhea, vomiting, sweating excessively, and dehydration can lead to a lowering of blood pressure, which can lead to fainting. Tell your doctor if you develop these symptoms during treatment with valsartan.

If your doctor has recommended a low-sodium or low-salt diet, follow it carefully. Do not use potassium supplements or salt substitutes that contain potassium without talking to your healthcare provider first.

Stop taking valsartan and tell your doctor as soon as possible if you become pregnant while on valsartan. Do not breastfeed while taking valsartan.

Tell all your doctors you are on valsartan before any surgery, including dental procedures.

Valsartan Drug Interactions

Certain other drugs can affect how valsartan works. Possible interactions between valsartan and other medicines can increase the risk of severe adverse effects. Your doctor may change the dose of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects if there are known interactions between valsartan and your other medicines. 

You should not take a medication called aliskiren (Tekturna, Tekamlo, Tekturna HCT, Amturnide) with valsartan.

The following medications can also have possible interactions with valsartan:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors such as enalapril (Vasotec), captopril (Capoten, in Capozide), benazepril (Lotensin, in Lotrel), lisinopril (in Prinzide, in Zestoretic), fosinopril, moexipril (Univasc, in Uniretic), quinapril (Accupril, in Accuretic, in Quinaretic), perindopril, (Aceon), trandolapril (Mavik, in Tarka), and ramipril (Altace)
• Other medications used to treat high blood pressure or heart problems
• Selective COX-2 inhibitors such as celecoxib (Celebrex)
• Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) 
• Immunosuppressants like cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune)
• Water pills (diuretics), including potassium-sparing diuretics like spironolactone (Aldactone, in Aldactazide), amiloride (Midamor), and triamterene (Dyrenium, in Dyazide, in Maxzide)
• Cholesterol lowering drugs like gemfibrozil (Lopid)
• Potassium supplements
• Tuberculosis drugs like rifampin (Rimactane, Rifadin, in Rifater, in Rifamate)
• Antiviral drugs like ritonavir (Norvir)

The above list may not include all the possible interactions of valsartan. Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies. Also, tell your healthcare professional if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs because some of these substances can cause serious health complications when used with prescription and over-the-counter medicines.