Drug Interaction Report

Amlodipine and Simvastatin: Interaction Details

Name: Amlodipine and Simvastatin Interaction
Creator: Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS

A pharmacist-reviewed analysis of the Amlodipine and Simvastatin interaction: the documented clinical effects, severity rating, onset, mechanism, and management considerations, with cited references throughout.

AI-assisted, pharmacist-reviewed · Source data updated Aug 8, 2026 · Sources: FDA labeling, DDInter 2.0, cited literature

Simvastatin

Flolipid Flolipid® Zocor Zocor®

Amlodipine

Amvaz® Katerzia Katerzia® Norliqva Norvasc Norvasc® Sdamlo

Medically reviewed by

Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS

Updated Aug 8, 2026

Editorial policy · Data sources

Interaction severity

Major

Potentially serious — often needs a change or close monitoring.

Minor

Moderate

Major

Contraindicated

How we grade severity & evidence

Severity levels

Contraindicated: These should generally not be used together.
Major: Potentially serious — often needs a change or close monitoring.
Moderate: Can be significant — usually manageable with monitoring.
Minor: Usually limited clinical impact.

Evidence grades

Established: Well documented — supported by controlled studies or strong clinical data.
Probable: Good supporting evidence, though not definitively proven.
Suspected: Some evidence suggests this interaction, but it is not well established.
Possible: Limited or conflicting evidence; the interaction may occur.
Theoretical: Predicted from the drugs' pharmacology; not yet confirmed in people.

Ratings come from the documented interaction literature and are reviewed by a pharmacist. They describe the documented risk of the combination, not what will necessarily happen to you — your dose, timing, and health picture all matter.

Of 195 documented Amlodipine interactions, 180 are rated major — including this one.

Worried about symptoms right now? Contact your pharmacist or prescriber, or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 (US). Call 911 for an emergency.

Onset

unspecified

Evidence

probable

Severity

Major

What happens

Increased simvastatin exposure and an increased risk of myopathy or rhabdomyolysis

Interaction Deep Dive

Concurrent administration of amlodipine and simvastatin increases simvastatin exposure and may increase the risk of myopathy or rhabdomyolysis². Simvastatin mean ratio (with amlodipine/without amlodipine) for AUC and Cmax was 1.77 and 1.47 with coadministration of amlodipine (10 mg every day for 10 days) and simvastatin (a single, 80-mg dose on day 10) ²⁵. If it is necessary to coadminister amlodipine and simvastatin, the dose of simvastatin should not exceed 20 mg/day ³²¹. Guidelines recommend either avoiding coadministration of amlodipine with statin medications, using an alternative statin that does not interact with amlodipine, or limiting the statin dose when coadministration is required ⁴.

Why it happens (mechanism)

An unknown mechanism

Literature reports

1 report — tap to read

a) Simvastatin AUC and Cmax increased with coadministration of simvastatin and amlodipine in a pharmacokinetic study. Subjects received amlodipine 10 mg every day for 10 days and on day 10 a single, 80-mg dose of simvastatin was administered. The mean ratio (with amlodipine/without amlodipine) of simvastatin was 1.77 for AUC and 1.47 for Cmax. The corresponding ratios for simvastatin acid (beta-hydroxyacid of simvastatin) were 1.58 for AUC and 1.56 for Cmax ²⁵.

Common questions

Can I take Amlodipine and Simvastatin together?

Increased simvastatin exposure and an increased risk of myopathy or rhabdomyolysis Always confirm with your pharmacist or prescriber before making any change.

How serious is the Amlodipine and Simvastatin interaction?

It is rated major. Potentially serious — often needs a change or close monitoring.

How quickly could this interaction happen?

The documented onset is "unspecified". The timing of this interaction is not well characterized.

How strong is the evidence for this interaction?

The evidence is graded "probable". Good supporting evidence, though not definitively proven.

From our Q&A

Real reader questions about these medications, each personally answered by our pharmacist:

Questions for your pharmacist

Does my dose of Amlodipine or Simvastatin need adjusting while I take them together?
What symptoms should prompt me to call you or my prescriber right away?
Does the timing of my doses matter for this combination?
Is there a safer alternative to one of these medications for me?

References (5)

Product Information: SDAMLO oral solution, amlodipine oral solution. Brillian Pharma Inc. (per FDA), Edison, NJ, 2025. DailyMed
Product Information: ZOCOR(R) oral tablets, simvastatin oral tablets. Organon LLC (per FDA), Jersey City, NJ, 2023. DailyMed
Product Information: AZOR(R) oral tablets, amlodipine olmesartan medoxomil oral tablets. Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. (per FDA), Parsippany, NJ, 2017. DailyMed
Grundy SM, Stone NJ, Bailey AL, et al: 2018 AHA/ACC/AACVPR/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/ADA/AGS/APhA/ASPC/NLA/PCNA guideline on the management of blood cholesterol: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation 2019; 139(25):e1082-e1143.
Product Information: VYTORIN(R) oral tablets, ezetimibe simvastatin oral tablets. Organon LLC (per FDA), Jersey City, NJ, 2024. DailyMed

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Simvastatin

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Beyond drug–drug

These medications also interact with supplements

Prescription drugs aren't the whole picture — herbal and dietary supplements can interact with them too. From the evidence-graded Natural Medicines database:

Simvastatin + Activated Charcoal Apple Beer Grapefruit Siberian Cocklebur St. John's Wort Sweet Orange Wine + 175 more

Amlodipine + Activated Charcoal American Hellebore American Mistletoe Coleus Grapefruit St. John's Wort Tyramine Acacia Rigidula + 224 more

major · moderate · minor — check everything you take with our drug–supplement interaction checker.

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A message from HelloPharmacist

About our interaction database: depth, not breadth

HelloPharmacist doesn't license one of the big commercial interaction databases, so what you'll find here is not a complete list of every known drug interaction. Instead, each entry is researched, analyzed, and written up individually — documented from the published literature, reviewed by a pharmacist, and cited so you can check every source yourself.

If a combination isn't listed here, it means we haven't documented it yet — never that it's safe. For screening a full medication list, we recommend pairing this site with a comprehensive tool like the Drugs.com Interaction Checker and, most importantly, a review by your own pharmacist. For a deep, plain-English, fully sourced explanation of a specific documented interaction — that's exactly what we built this for.

This information is for education, not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not start, stop, or change any medication without talking to your pharmacist or prescriber.