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Atenolol

Beta Blockerprescriptionoral · inferred

Cardioselective (beta-1) antagonist historically among the most-prescribed beta blockers for hypertension, angina, and post-MI management. Hydrophilic and renally eliminated, minimizing CNS penetration and drug interactions. Typical 25-100 mg once daily. Meta-analyses have questioned its stroke-prevention efficacy relative to newer agents in primary HTN.

Projected serum levels — 50 mg, once daily

Atenolol
Atenolol modeled serum levels, 50 mg once daily over 15 days Population-based pharmacokinetic estimate. Steady state reached after approximately 1 days. 0 5 10 15 20 Day 0 Day 4 Day 8 Day 11 Day 15 Time on a regular schedule ≈ steady state · day 1

Maintenance schedule: 50 mg once daily (oral).

Modeled steady state after ~1 days: peak ≈ 14.8 mg, trough ≈ 0.33 mg body load. Population-based estimate over 15 days for a 50 mg dose at a 70 kg reference body mass — the interactive app scales curves to your doses, timing, and body mass.

Key facts

Category
Beta Blocker
Route modeled
Oral
Model confidence
inferred
Half-life
6.5 h
Common dose
50 mg
Suggested maximum
100 mg/day
Reference dose range
25–100 mg (single dose)
Suggested cadence
once daily
Validated against
50 mg oral — Cmax 0.30 mg/L at 3 h

Documented interactions

  • moderate
    Carvedilol (Coreg) + Atenolol Stacked effects

    Atenolol and Carvedilol (Coreg) both push the beta1 adrenergic and beta2 adrenergic in the same direction.

  • moderate
    Dolutegravir (DTG / Tivicay) + Atenolol Transporter inhibition

    Dolutegravir (DTG / Tivicay) inhibitor of OCT2 may alter Atenolol absorption / distribution

  • moderate
    Metoprolol (Lopressor / Toprol-XL) + Atenolol Stacked effects

    Atenolol and Metoprolol (Lopressor / Toprol-XL) both push the beta1 adrenergic and beta2 adrenergic in the same direction.

  • moderate
    Propranolol (Inderal) + Atenolol Stacked effects

    Atenolol and Propranolol (Inderal) both push the beta1 adrenergic and beta2 adrenergic in the same direction.

  • moderate
    Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) + Atenolol Transporter inhibition

    Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) inhibitor of OCT2 may alter Atenolol absorption / distribution

Serum checks 5 modeled interaction pairings for atenolol across your whole stack — absorption conflicts, enzyme inhibition, and nutrient depletion included.

Research behind this entry

  1. Atenolol in hypertension: is it a wise choice? Carlberg B, Samuelsson O, Lindholm LH · Lancet, 2004 DOI

    Meta-analysis of atenolol vs other antihypertensives in HTN trials found no difference in all-cause mortality and a higher risk of stroke with atenolol, challenging its role as first-line therapy.

  2. Beta-blockers for hypertension Wiysonge CS et al. · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017 DOI

    Updated Cochrane review of 13 RCTs concluded beta blockers (predominantly atenolol) are inferior to other first-line antihypertensives for preventing stroke and cardiovascular events.

  3. Clinical pharmacokinetics of atenolol — a review Kirch W, Gorg KG · European Journal of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, 1982 DOI

    Classical PK review establishing atenolol's ~50% oral bioavailability, 6-9 hour half-life, minimal hepatic metabolism, and predominantly renal elimination.

3 published studies referenced in the app, each with a plain-language summary.