Amlodipine · calcium channel blocker

Care that knows when 5 mg of amlodipine is enough, and when it isn't.

Amlodipine is a long-acting calcium channel blocker and a natural pairing with an ACE inhibitor. Clara watches your home BP trend and flags dose-dependent edema before it limits you.

Get started How it works

My doctor wants to add amlodipine to my lisinopril 20 mg. Is that the right next step?

Clara

Your 7-day home BP is 146/92 on lisinopril alone, so amlodipine 5 mg daily is the standard next step. Your March labs are clean. Sending to our physician.

Clara

Heads-up: amlodipine can cause ankle edema, and it's dose-dependent. I'll check your home BP at 2 weeks and draft a lower CCB plus an ARB add-on if it shows up at 10 mg.

How it works

Amlodipine prescribed from your data, not a template.

Connect your chart

Clara auto-syncs your records from 150,000+ doctors' offices, hospitals, pharmacies, labs, and wearable devices. Prior BP meds, simvastatin doses, grapefruit-juice habits — all relevant, all read. Free.

Clara reasons across your full context

Clara reads your BP trend, your medication list, and your cardiac history, then drafts a starting dose (typically 5 mg once daily) and the right add-on pattern. A licensed physician reviews and signs off.

Watch for edema, not just numbers

Clara follows your home BP, asks about ankle swelling at the dose transitions, and drafts an alternative if edema shows up — often a switch to an ARB or lower CCB dose, rather than more diuretic.

How Clara uses amlodipine

Doses, common combinations, and when to switch.

Rx · Starting

Amlodipine 5 mg daily

Usual starting dose for adult hypertension. Onset is gradual (steady state by 7–8 days) with a 24-hour duration from a single dose, so BP effect is smooth¹.

5–10 mg

Usual adult range, once daily¹

Rx · Combination

Amlodipine + lisinopril

An ACE inhibitor plus a CCB is a preferred first-line combination in ACC/AHA guidelines, particularly for Black patients and older adults, and it reduces CCB-induced edema relative to CCB alone³.

Drafted against your full chart

Rx · Combination

Amlodipine + losartan

When ACE-inhibitor cough develops, the equivalent combination with an ARB preserves dual-mechanism BP lowering. Clara drafts the swap in seconds against your full chart.

ACE-to-ARB swap when needed

Rx · Angina

Chronic stable and vasospastic angina

Amlodipine is on-label for chronic stable angina and confirmed or suspected vasospastic angina¹. Useful when a beta-blocker is not tolerated or contraindicated.

2 indications

Hypertension · angina¹

Safety · Interactions

Statin dose check

Amlodipine raises simvastatin exposure; the FDA label limits simvastatin to 20 mg daily with amlodipine². Clara reads your statin in context and flags — often with a switch to atorvastatin, which has no such limit.

<=20 mg

Simvastatin cap with amlodipine²

Monitoring · Trend

Home BP + edema check

Clara layers home cuff readings with wearable resting heart rate and asks about ankle swelling at the 2-week and dose-escalation marks. No separate visit required.

2 wk

First check-in window

Why Clara

Can your old doctor read your entire chart every time?

	Clara	GoodRx Care	Circle Medical	Your doctor
24/7 AI clinical chat with full-chart reasoning	✓ Unlimited	Per-visit only	Visit-based	✗
Auto-reads chart for statin interaction before Rx	✓ Every time	Manual at visit	Manual at visit	Dependent on time
Cost to start	Free (connect records + chat)	$49 per BP refill visit	$179 first visit self-pay	$150+ copay
Paid plans	$25/mo membership, HSA/FSA eligible	No membership, $49/visit ($19 w/ GoodRx Gold)	No membership, $120 follow-up self-pay	Per-visit copay
Prescription fills	FDA-approved generic, may be covered by your insurance	Sent to your pharmacy	Sent to your pharmacy	Sent to your pharmacy
Ankle edema follow-up without a new visit	✓ Handled in chat	New visit required	New visit	Next appointment
Full primary care in one membership	✓	Single-visit refill	✓	✓

The AI difference

A calcium channel blocker that talks to the rest of your chart.

Amlodipine interacts with statins, dose-dependently causes edema, and works best in specific combinations. A 15-minute visit cannot track all of that. Clara does.

Statin interaction, auto-checked

If you're on simvastatin >20 mg, Clara flags the FDA limit and drafts a switch to atorvastatin or a lower simvastatin dose before the amlodipine is called in.

Edema, flagged in chat

Ankle swelling at 10 mg does not need a new visit. Describe it in chat, Clara reads your home BP, and drafts an alternative — often a lower CCB dose with an ARB/ACE add-on, rather than piling on a diuretic.

Pairs the right second agent

Clara reads guidelines against your chart: Black patient, older adult, diabetic nephropathy, LVH on echo. It drafts amlodipine + ACE/ARB in the combination that best fits your data, not a blanket protocol.

Common questions

Amlodipine questions patients ask.

How is Clara different from a single refill visit?

A refill visit hands you a prescription and sends you home. Clara keeps reading — your home BP trend, your next BMP, your wearable data, and every other condition on your chart. If your simvastatin dose is now out of range with amlodipine, or edema shows up at 10 mg, Clara flags it and drafts a response against your full record. That is a category of continuous reasoning a one-off visit cannot do.

Is amlodipine better as first-line or add-on?

Both are valid. In ALLHAT (33,357 patients), amlodipine was similar to chlorthalidone and lisinopril for the primary outcome of combined fatal CHD or nonfatal MI³. In practice, Clara often starts amlodipine as first-line for patients who shouldn't take an ACE/ARB or a diuretic, and adds it on for patients who need a second agent from a different class.

Why does amlodipine cause ankle swelling?

Amlodipine dilates arteriolar capillaries preferentially, which raises capillary pressure and leaks fluid into ankle tissue. It's dose-dependent and more common at 10 mg than 5 mg. The classic move is to add or increase an ACE inhibitor or ARB, which dilates the venous side too and typically resolves the edema — not to add a diuretic⁴.

Should I avoid grapefruit juice on amlodipine?

Grapefruit can modestly raise amlodipine levels but the effect is smaller than with other CCBs (like felodipine). The FDA label does not prohibit grapefruit with amlodipine specifically, but Clara flags it if you're on a high dose with reported side effects.

Can I take amlodipine with a statin?

Amlodipine has a specific interaction with simvastatin — the FDA label caps simvastatin at 20 mg daily when co-administered with amlodipine because of increased muscle-injury risk². Atorvastatin, rosuvastatin, and pravastatin do not have that limit. Clara reads your statin when drafting an amlodipine prescription and flags the swap before the order goes out.

Is Clara a real medical practice?

Yes. Clara is licensed in all 50 states and operates through affiliated professional corporations. A licensed physician reviews and signs off on every prescription and lab order Clara's AI drafts. Clara's AI handles intake, monitoring, and follow-up; physicians provide medical oversight.

What does Clara cost, and can I use insurance?

Connecting records and chatting with Clara is free. Paid plans start at $25/month for medical advice, prescriptions, and lab orders. All plans are HSA/FSA eligible. Clara's membership is cash-pay and not billed through insurance. Prescriptions Clara writes go to your pharmacy and may be covered by your insurance, and ad-hoc lab orders may be covered by your insurance, depending on your plan.

Can I use Clara for other health issues too?

Yes. One membership covers full primary care. Many patients on amlodipine are also managing high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes; Clara's AI connects the dots across all of them. Wearables like Oura and Garmin feed resting heart rate and HRV straight into the BP context.