Calcium Channel Blockers (CCBs)
Common brand names: Amlodipine (Norvasc), Diltiazem (Cardizem), Verapamil (Calan)
Two nutrients listed against this medication. The most severe is marked moderate.
At a glance
Neither of the two is marked well documented. Each row carries its own evidence level.
At a glance
- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)Moderate · Traditionally cited, limited evidence
- MagnesiumMild · Traditionally cited, limited evidence
Color shows how serious each listed effect is. The label beside it shows how strong the evidence is. The cards below explain each one and show its evidence.
Nutrients it can lower
Mechanism, CCBs inhibit calcium entry into cardiac and vascular smooth muscle cells. A CoQ10 interaction has been proposed on structural grounds, but no study has measured CoQ10 status in people taking a calcium-channel blocker. Treat this as a hypothesis, not a documented effect.
Common signs, Fatigue, reduced exercise tolerance, worsening heart failure symptoms, peripheral edema unrelated to drug mechanism
Kishi et al. (Res Commun Chem Pathol Pharmacol, 1975; PMID PubMed ID: the permanent number the US National Library of Medicine gives a published paper. Each one links to that paper's record on PubMed. 1197930): an in-vitro assay of eight antihypertensive drugs against mitochondrial CoQ10 enzymes. No calcium-channel blocker was among them; the inhibitors identified were diazoxide, propranolol, hydrochlorothiazide, hydralazine and clonidine. There are no human CoQ10-depletion data for calcium-channel blockers.
CoQ10 100–300 mg daily is a range in common use, not from a trial cited on this row. The cited in-vitro assay included no calcium-channel blocker, and no human CoQ10-depletion data exist for this drug class.
Mechanism, CCBs and magnesium both affect calcium handling in vascular smooth muscle. They are physiologically complementary. However, patients on CCBs often have underlying magnesium deficiency that impairs cardiovascular function and blood pressure control.
Common signs, Muscle cramps, sleep disruption, palpitations, constipation (especially with verapamil)
Cited data describe baseline magnesium deficiency in hypertension, not CCB-caused depletion. Speculative.
Magnesium 200–400 mg/day in the evening is a range in common use, not from a trial cited on this row. No cited source reports a magnesium interaction with calcium-channel blockers, and none tested the two together for blood pressure.
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Disclosure
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any grade on this page describes the strength of published human trial evidence in the populations studied. It is not a recommendation for any individual and is not medical advice. Starting, stopping or changing any supplement or medication is a decision for your physician.
Grades move when new trials publish. A free monthly email lists every grade EBL moved, with the reason and the trial behind it: the sign-up is on the Evidence Log →