Because of the possibility of serious side effects, such as chest pain or a heart attack, you should not stop taking Toprol-XL suddenly. If your doctor decides you should stop taking Toprol-XL, you may be instructed to slowly reduce your dose over a period of time before stopping it completely.

Toprol-XL may not be right for everyone, especially people who have the following health conditions:

• Extreme slowing of the heart rate
• Sudden and severe drop in the blood pressure and blood flow through the body because the heart is not pumping normally
• Uncontrolled heart failure
• Slowdown of the heart’s electrical signal causing a slower heart rate
• Damage to the heart’s natural pacemaker that affects the heart’s rhythm unless a pacemaker device is in the body
• Any allergies to Toprol-XL or its ingredients

It is important to take your medications every day as directed by your doctor.

Patients who have asthma or asthma-like lung disease should, in general, not take Toprol-XL. Your doctor may not want you to take Toprol-XL if you are taking certain types of high blood pressure medicine; have diabetes; overactive thyroid disease; hardening of the arteries in the arms or legs, or are having major surgery.

Until you know how you will react to Toprol-XL, avoid activities that require alertness. In patients with high blood pressure, the most common side effects were tiredness, dizziness, depression, diarrhea, itching or rash, shortness of breath, and slow heart rate. If you experience any of these or other side effects, contact your doctor.

Read the full Prescribing Information, including boxed WARNING regarding abrupt cessation of therapy.