What Is It Like to Take Losartan (Cozaar) for High Blood Pressure?
Key takeaways:
Losartan (Cozaar) works to lower blood pressure by blocking a certain hormone that squeezes blood vessels.
Some people experience sensitivity to light and heat when taking losartan, but this isn’t common.
Other side effects of the medication include dizziness, nausea, and symptoms of the common cold. But most side effects go away shortly after starting treatment with the medication.
If you have high blood pressure, your doctor may suggest taking a medication called losartan, which is also available under the brand name Cozaar.
Losartan helps your blood vessels relax and widen, which reduces blood pressure. This can lower the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, and other health conditions related to high blood pressure. It also works to slow down kidney damage in people with Type 2 diabetes.
Most people who take the medication see improvement after a few weeks of taking it. Though, there is a potential for mild side effects. Here’s how three people describe their experiences taking losartan for high blood pressure.
Sensitivity to light and heat
Sabrina Lonzo found out during a routine physical that her blood pressure was too high.
“When [the nurses] were getting me ready to draw some blood, they took my blood pressure,” says Sabrina, a 50-year-old artist who lives near Chicago.
A healthy blood pressure is typically considered to be 120/80 or lower. Sabrina’s was 180/120, which prompted her regular provider to send her to the emergency room across the street. There, her blood pressure reading was 190/144, or what Sabrina describes as “stroke level.”
Sabrina told her emergency room care team that she was having symptoms of blurred vision and mild nausea. They quickly gave her medication and performed CT scans on her chest and head. They told her that her age and symptoms put her at risk of a heart attack.
About a week after her emergency room visit, a specialist prescribed Sabrina losartan. Now, 2 years later, her blood pressure has stabilized with the help of the medication. She says her only side effect is sensitivity to sunlight and heat.
“My doctor had prepared me that I might have a sensitivity to sunlight,” she says. “I hate the sun because I get really, really hot. If you sweat, you could literally overheat, because you don’t have a lot of water in the body. So I avoid sunlight and heat.”
Mild lightheadedness
For Julie Weigt, the creator of a lifestyle blog, the benefits of losartan outweigh the side effects.
Julie, who is 61 and lives in Meridian, Idaho, was diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2013 during a routine physical exam. Her doctor prescribed her losartan to bring her blood pressure down. And she’s been taking a 50 mg daily dose of the medication ever since.
“I will tell you, I was terrified to start taking it. I wasn’t on any medication, and I am an avid pill bottle and side effects reader,” Julie says, adding that she was particularly worried about the side effects. “I had a little bit of lightheadedness. I still do from time to time. It doesn’t make me dizzy or anything really concerning.”
Julie says that, when she first started taking the medication, she talked to her doctor about her side effects. But he told her that lightheadedness was normal. These days, she says, her lightheadedness ebbs and flows depending on her anxiety and exertion levels.
“I stopped taking it for a while, but my blood pressure shot up, which is not a good thing,” she adds.
Julie’s doctor prescribed her another blood pressure medication. But that medication made her potassium levels drop too low, so she returned to taking losartan.
Julie says the only other change in her day-to-day life has been not being able to eat one of her favorite foods. “I've been told that I should not eat any grapefruit products with it, which is sad because I really like the grapefruits,” she explains
Despite the side effects and the restrictions, Julie adds, the medication is worth it.
“Just be educated on the possible side effects. But don’t be afraid to take it, because the benefits outweigh the possible negatives,” she says. “For me, it’s controlled my blood pressure really well. And aside from the occasional things that I’ve talked about, it really hasn’t impacted my life in a negative way.”
Side effects that went away with time
Harvey Castro, a Dallas physician, not only prescribes losartan to his patients, but also takes it to treat his own hypertension.
Harvey noticed his blood pressure was high during a self-examination. He then went to his doctor, who prescribed him losartan.
“I fought it in the sense that I wanted to lose weight [instead],” Harvey says of his initial hopes to improve his blood pressure without taking medication. “I was watching what I ate, and I had actually lost a bunch of weight. But then I started getting dizzy because my blood pressure was dropping too much.”
Within weeks of starting treatment with losartan, Harvey could see a difference in his blood pressure. And his only side effects were mild.
“I had a tiny bit of nausea. I had a little bit of a headache, but it was very mild,” he says. “If I didn’t know about the side effects, I wouldn’t know it was the medicine. And honestly, it all pretty much resolved after just some time. I would say, within a week, my body adjusted, and it really wasn’t bothering me at all.”
Harvey says his experience with the medication has helped him to counsel his patients better. Some of his patients have experienced dizziness, while some have had diarrhea while taking it, he says.
“I usually just have them continue if it’s not too bad, and then have them call me within a week to see how they’re doing. Pretty much everybody has gotten better from it, so that makes me happy,” he says of his patients seeing improvement with losartan.
While he knows he’ll likely have to take losartan the rest of his life, Harvey says he’d ideally like to try and manage his blood pressure through eating right and getting more exercise.
“My goal is just to lose weight. I’m not morbidly obese or anything like that. But the fact that my blood pressure is getting up there and it’s being controlled bothers me, because I’m only 49,” he says of taking medication to manage his condition. “I really shouldn’t be on this right now. It should happen later in my life. But, you know, it is what it is.”
What does the pharmacist say?
Joshua Murdock, PharmD, BCBBS
Pharmacy Editor
Losartan (Cozaar) is an oral medication that’s FDA approved to treat high blood pressure. It can also reduce the risk of stroke and slow down the progression of kidney problems in certain people. It’s the most common angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), a class of medications that treat high blood pressure and other heart conditions.
Losartan is relatively convenient to take, too. Most people take one 50 mg tablet once daily, though 25 mg and 100 mg daily doses are also options. You can take losartan any time of day, with or without food. Just try to be consistent with how you take it for best results — especially since it can take a few weeks to effectively lower your blood pressure.
Healthcare providers often recommend losartan as a first-choice treatment option for high blood pressure. It’s also a common alternative for people who are taking an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, like lisinopril (Zestril, Qbrelis), and experiencing a persistent cough. Losartan doesn’t lead to coughing fits nearly as often as ACE inhibitors, but it still has its own side effects and potential interactions to keep in mind.
Let your provider know if you experience any back pain or bothersome spells of dizziness, fatigue, or symptoms of the common cold while taking losartan. And if you have a prescription for lithium or a potassium-raising medication like spironolactone (Aldactone), know that your provider may want to adjust your medication dosages as a precaution.
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