An aldosterone antagonist may help you live longer and reduce your hospital stays.
With heart failure, your body makes too much of the stress hormone aldosterone. This makes your kidneys retain more sodium and water so your symptoms of heart failure may be worse than if you didn't take this medicine. An aldosterone antagonist blocks the effects of this hormone.
The aldosterone antagonists used for heart failure are spironolactone (Aldactone®) and eplerenone (Inspra®).
Side effects
Side effects of aldosterone antagonists include:
Important
If you have any of the side effects listed here, call your health care provider.
increased potassium levels. Your health care provider will make sure your potassium level is normal with occasional blood tests.
