What is Candesartan?
Candesartan, also known as an ARB or angiotensin I receptor blocking drug (sometimes), is an angiotensin 2 receptor. Candesartan treats hypertension in adults and children older than 1 year. Lowering your blood pressure can reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack.
Candesartan can also be used to treat certain types of heart failure in adults. This will reduce your risk of dying or being hospitalised due to heart damage. Candesartan can be used in other ways not mentioned in this guide.
Side effects of Candesartan
If you experience any of the following symptoms of an allergic reaction, seek immediate medical attention: hives, difficulty breathing, swelling of your lips, face, tongue, or throat.
Candesartan may cause serious side effects. If you experience:
- A feeling of lightheadedness, as if you could pass out.
- There is little or no urine production.
- High potassium level: nausea, tingling feeling, chest pains, irregular heartbeats, and loss of mobility
Candesartan can cause the following side effects:
- High potassium
- Headache, back pain;
- Cold symptoms, including stuffy or runny nasal passages, sneezing, and a sore neck.
- Dizziness;
- A kidney abnormality test.
There may be other side effects. Call your doctor immediately if experiencing side effects and report it immediately with the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 for advice or reporting of adverse events.
Warnings
Use it only if you're not pregnant. If you become pregnant, stop using candesartan immediately and inform your doctor. Candesartan should not be taken with any medications that contain aliskiren.
Before you take this drug
If you have an allergy to candesartan, this medication should be avoided. Candesartan should not be taken with aliskiren, a blood pressure medication, if you have diabetes. If you have kidney problems, it is important to avoid candesartan when taking aliskiren.
Inform your physician of any of the following issues:
- A heart condition that is not being treated with candesartan
- Kidney disease (or dialysis if you have it);
- Liver disease
- If you're on a diet low in salt,
You should not take this medicine if you're pregnant. If you become pregnant, stop using the medication and immediately tell your doctor. Candesartan may cause harm or even death to an unborn child if taken during the second or third trimester.
Ask your doctor about a safe medicine you can take before and during pregnancy if you are planning to become pregnant. High blood pressure can cause complications for both the mother and baby. Candesartan should not be used while breastfeeding.
How to take Candesartan?
Read all the instructions or guides that come with your medication and follow the directions. Sometimes, your doctor will change the dose.Take your medication exactly as instructed. Candesartan may be taken with or without food.
A pharmacist can make a liquid out of the tablet for a child who cannot swallow it whole. Before measuring a dose, shake the liquid. Use the provided dosing device or a dose-measuring tool (not a spoon). Candesartan dosage is based on the weight of children and/or adolescents. If your child loses or gains weight, the dose needed by your child may change.
You will need to check your blood pressure regularly. You may need to check your kidney function. If you have nausea, diarrhoea, or are perspiring excessively, call your doctor. Candesartan can cause dehydration. You may need to wait 2 to 4 weeks for your blood pressure levels to be in the normal range. Even if you are feeling well, continue to take this medication as prescribed. High blood pressure is often asymptomatic.
It is possible that you will need to take blood pressure medication for the rest of your life. Diet, exercise, lowering of cholesterol, stopping smoking, and diabetes control may be included in treatment. Tell your surgeon that you are currently taking this medication if you require surgery. You may have to stop using this medicine for a few days. Store away from heat and moisture at room temperature.
Details on dosage
Usual Adult Dose for Hypertension:
Initial dose: 16mg orally, once per day.
Maintenance dose: 8–32 mg/day, divided into 1 or 2 doses
Maximum dose: 32 mg/day
Comments:
Consider administering a lower dose at first in patients with volume depletion.
The majority of the antihypertensive effects are present within two weeks. Maximum blood pressure reduction is usually observed between four and six weeks after starting a dose.
Adult dose for congestive heart failure:
Initial dose: 4mg orally, once daily; double doses every 2 weeks as tolerated to reach the target dose of 16mg orally, once daily.
Treatment of New York Heart Association (NYHA), class II to IV heart failure
The usual paediatric dose for hypertension is:
From 1 to 6 years:
Initial dose: 0.2 mg/kg/day, divided into 1 or 2 doses
Maintenance dose: 0.05–0.4 mg/kg/day, divided into 1 or 2 doses
Six to seventeen years old:
Weighing less than 50 kg
Initial dosage: 4–8 mg/day, orally divided into 1–2 doses
Maintenance dosage: 2–16 mg/day, orally in one to two divided doses
More than 50 kg
Initial dosage: 8–16 mg/day, orally divided into 1–2 doses
Maintenance dosage: 4 to 32 mg/day orally, in one to two divided doses
Comments:
For patients who may be at risk of intravascular depletion due to diuretics (e.g., patients with renal impairment treated with diuretics), administer this drug under strict supervision.
The antihypertensive effects are usually seen within two weeks. Maximum blood pressure reduction is typically observed four weeks after starting a dose.
For children who are unable to swallow the tablets, a liquid suspension can be used.
What happens if I miss the dose?
If you are almost due for your next dose, skip the missed one. Never take two doses of the same medicine at once.
What happens if I overdose?
Call 1-800-222-1222 for poison help or seek immediate medical attention. The symptoms of an overdose may include nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.
What should be avoided?
Use potassium supplements and salt substitutes only upon the advice of your physician. You could become dizzy if you rise quickly from sitting or lying position.
Interaction with other drug
Inform your physician of all medications being taken by you, such as:
- Any other heart or blood-pressure medications
- A diuretic, or "water pill".
- Lithium
- Nsaids are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. These include ibuprofen, naproxen, celecoxib (Advil), diclofenac (Aleve), indomethacin (Indomethacin), meloxicam (Meloxicam), and many others.
This list is incomplete. Candesartan may be affected by other drugs, such as vitamins and herbs. This list does not include all possible interactions with other drugs.
