Spironolactone
AldactonePubChem CID 5833 · 3D model
Drag to rotate. Scroll or pinch to zoom.
Blocks a hormone called aldosterone from working a salt-recycling pump in the kidney, flushing out salt and water while holding onto potassium — unlike hydrochlorothiazide or furosemide, also on this site, which flush potassium out too.
How it works
Spironolactone blocks the hormone aldosterone from acting on a specific salt-recycling pump in the kidney, so more salt and water leave the body as urine while potassium is held onto — unlike hydrochlorothiazide and furosemide, both also on this site, which flush out potassium along with the salt. It works at a different, further-downstream stretch of the kidney's filtering tubes than either of those two drugs. It's also thought to protect the heart directly, beyond its water-pill effect, which is why it's specifically shown to help people with heart failure live longer, not just feel less swollen.
What it’s used for
Used to help people with more advanced heart failure live longer and stay out of the hospital, as an add-on medicine for high blood pressure, and to manage fluid buildup in patients with cirrhosis when simpler measures like cutting back on salt aren't enough.
- Mechanism
- Aldosterone (mineralocorticoid) receptor antagonist
- Drug class
- Small molecule
- Therapeutic area
- Cardiovascular