Amiloride is an antihypertensive, a potassium-sparing diuretic that was first approved for use in 1967 and helps to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure. Antihypertensives are a class of drugs that are used In medicine and pharmacology to treat hypertension. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 39. ... A diuretic is any drug that tends to increase the flow of urine from the body (diuresis). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other forms of hypertension see hypertension (disambiguation) Hypertension or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure in the arteries is chronically elevated. ... Congestive heart failure (CHF) (also called congestive cardiac failure and heart failure) is the inability of the heart to pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body, or requiring elevated filling pressures in order to pump effectively. ...

Amiloride works by inhibiting sodium reabsorption in the distal convoluted tubules and collecting ducts in the kidneys. This promotes the loss of sodium and water from the body, but without depleting potassium. The drug is often used in conjunction with thiazide or loop diuretics. Due to its potassium-sparing capacities, hyperkalemia (high blood potassium levels) are occasionally observed in patients taking amiloride. The risk is high in concurrent use of ACE inhibitors or spironolactone. Patients are also advised not to use potassium-containing salt replacements. General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 22. ... Kidney nephron The distal convoluted tubule (DCT) is a portion of kidney nephron between the loop of Henle and the collecting duct system. ... Human kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ... Thiazides are a class of drug that promote water loss from the body ((diuretics)). They inhibit Na+/Cl- reabsorption from the distal convoluted tubules in the kidneys. ... Loop diuretics are diuretics that act on the ascending loop of Henle in the kidney. ... Hyperkalemia (hyper is high, kalium is the Latin name for potassium) is an elevated blood level (above 5. ... ACE inhibitors, or inhibitors of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme, are a group of pharmaceuticals that are used primarily in treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure, in most cases as the drugs of first choice. ... Spironolactone (marketed as Aldactone or Spiritone) is a synthetic 17-lactone steroid which is a renal competitive aldosterone antagonist in a class of pharmaceuticals called potassium-sparing diuretics, used primarily to treat low-renin hypertension, hypokalemia, and Conns syndrome. ...

See also

• Amiloride-sensitive Sodium channels