<unk>  is given to hypertensive individuals in 20 mg oral tablets every day. This amount is effective in reducing blood pressure by 15–20% within 1–2 hours of administration. With long-term treatments, the dosage may rise to as much as 40 mg/day; in elderly individuals, a lower dosage of up to 5 mg/day may be equally effective (this reduction in drug amount is attributed to decreased liver function or “first pass” metabolism). Once digested,<unk>  is absorbed into the blood and binds to plasma proteins. The majority (98%) is bound to plasma proteins and 70-80% of its inactive polar metabolites are also bound to plasma proteins. Following hepatic metabolism, 80% of the 20 mg dose can be recovered in the first 96 hours as inactive polar metabolites. The specific volume of distribution of the drug is 2-6 L/kg. In terms of drug half-life,<unk>  has a half-life of 12–24 hours. The reported side effects include: headache, flushing, edema and palpitations. These side effects can all be attributed to the vasodilation effect of this drug.
Nitrendipine
Nadolol
Sodium nitroprusside
Atenolol
Captopril
Isoprenaline
Nisoldipine
Nebivolol