Spironolactone

Spironolactone is used to treat fluid retention, which may be caused by liver disease, kidney problems or heart failure. Fluid retention occurs when fluid leaks out of your blood vessels, causing swelling in the tissues of your lungs, feet or ankles.

Spironolactone prevents the fluid building in your body by increasing the amount of urine your kidneys produce.

Spironolactone is one of a family of medicines called diuretics, sometimes known as “water tablets.”

Spironolactone is important because, unlike some other diuretics, it does not cause your body to lose potassium.

Find out more at: 

https://patient.info/medicine/spironolactone-aldactone#nav-0 

https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/search?q=spironolactone

Research studies have looked at how likely it is that Spironolactone will prevent death in people with. advanced heart failure.

Research suggests:

In a group of 18 people with advanced heart failure, which severely restricts their activity,  Spironolactone will prevent 1 person from this group (on average) from dying in the course of one year. Spironolactone also reduced the frequency of hospitalisation for heart failure and produced a significant improvement in the symptoms of heart failure.

This picture illustrates how likely a person taking Spironolactone is to get this benefit.

It is not possible to tell what will happen to you as an individual.

Find out more about this research at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10471456

You can discuss with your health professional  the possible side effects and other risks Spironolactone might have.

Side-effects are unwanted affects that can happen to your body when taking a medicine. 

Not everyone will get side-effects. These usually improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following side-effects persist or worry you.

Here are some of the common side-effects of Spironolactone- which affect more than 1 in 10 people:

• Headache
• Indigestion, diarrhoea
• Sexual problems, breast discomfort and enlargement, feeling confused, irregular periods.
• Fatigue, drowsiness

There are other side-effects that are less common or rare. 

Find out more at: https://patient.info/medicine/spironolactone-aldactone#nav-4