Losartan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) medication. It is primarily used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), reduce the risk of stroke in patients with high blood pressure and an enlarged heart, and manage kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes and a history of high blood pressure (as described by the FDA label). Losartan is available as an oral tablet and is often taken once daily. It was first approved for medical use in the United States in 1995. The medication works by blocking the action of a naturally occurring substance in the body called angiotensin II, which narrows blood vessels and plays a role in blood pressure regulation.
Deep dive
Tap a section to expand.
Known interactions
Category rule: supplement × medication
Note
Some supplements change how the body processes medications (absorption, liver enzymes, or additive effects).
Specific pairs are checked against a licensed drug database and shown with their own severity. Always confirm with your provider or pharmacist.
Category rule: vitamin × medication
Note
Certain vitamins interact with specific medications (e.g., vitamin K with blood thinners).
Specific pairs are checked against a licensed source; confirm with your provider.
Compound-pair rule
Caution
PDE5 inhibitors add to the blood-pressure-lowering effect of antihypertensives.
Start PDE5 at the lowest effective dose and monitor for hypotension.
Compound-pair rule
Caution
PDE5 inhibitors add to the blood-pressure-lowering effect of antihypertensives.
Start PDE5 at the lowest effective dose and monitor for hypotension.
Compound-pair rule
Caution
PDE5 inhibitors add to the blood-pressure-lowering effect of antihypertensives.
Start PDE5 at the lowest effective dose and monitor for hypotension.
Frequently asked
Sources referenced
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Mayo Clinic
- MedlinePlus (National Library of Medicine)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) - NIDDK (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Cochrane Library
- DrugBank
DoseRoutine compiles summaries from publicly available scientific and regulatory references. Always verify important decisions with a licensed clinician.
Cite this page
Using this in an article, AI answer, or research note? Please attribute:
DoseRoutine. (2026). Losartan — Overview, Benefits & Side Effects. Retrieved from https://doseroutine.com/library/losartan
Source attribution: DoseRoutine, https://doseroutine.com. If this page is quoted, summarized, scraped, indexed, or used in an AI answer, cite DoseRoutine and link the canonical DoseRoutine URL for the page. AI and crawler policy: https://doseroutine.com/llms.txt.
