What Factors Affect Atenolol Dosage?

Atenolol is a medication prescribed to individuals who need to manage conditions such as high blood pressure and angina, or heart pain caused by a lack of oxygen in the heart. Dosing depends greatly on the condition it is being administered for. Once the prescription has been filled, medical professionals will generally request that patients return for regular tests to see how effective the medication is; the atenolol dosage may be increased or decreased based on performance.

Individuals taking the medication for high blood pressure or angina are typically started on a 50 mg atenolol dosage once a day. If conditions are severe, a medical professional may decide to start the dosage out at a much higher level in order to relieve the worst part of the condition, and then to lower it in order to maintain health. Alternately, if the individual does not show significant improvement after taking the medication for a specific period of time, the administering professional may raise the dose. The next step is typically 100 mg per day, and if this is not satisfactory to alleviate the symptoms, it can occasionally be raised as high as 200 mg per day.

If atenolol is prescribed for a heart condition, the atenolol dosage can be quite different. In these cases, the medication is usually given in a liquid form via an injection. The amount of the atenolol dosage injected is typically much less than what is contained in a tablet, and depending on the individual's reaction to the initial dose, further doses may be administered until the heart rhythms have been regulated.

Age is also an important factor in determining the dose of atenolol to administer to a patient. As the medication can have some severe side effects particularly dangerous to an elderly patient, medical professionals will often prescribe a very low dose until it is known how the individual will react. Other medications that the individual is taking can also have an impact on the dose, as some will react negatively with atenolol.

Since atenolol can have negative effects if taken in conjunction with some other medications, atenolol dosage needs to be monitored for younger patients also. Beta blockers, which are also used in the treatment of high blood pressure, can result in an individual being prescribed a lower dose. Pre-existing allergies, the administration of calcium channel blockers, and the existence of diabetes can all result in a more cautious prescription.