| Dosage | : | Tablet 2.5, 5 & 10 mg |
| Contains | : | Amlodipine besylate |
| Category | : | Antihypertensive, Ca antagonist |
| Uses | : | Hypertension, Angina |
| Price | : |
Amlodac is used to treat high blood pressure and other heart complications. The medicine should be taken in conjunction with a proper diet and regular exercise. It is also used in managing chest pain.
Amlodac contains Amlodipine. Amlodipine is a long-acting calcium channel blocker (dihydropyridine class) used as an anti-hypertensive and in the treatment of angina. Like other calcium channel blockers, amlodipine acts by relaxing the smooth muscle in the arterial wall, decreasing peripheral resistance and hence reducing blood pressure; in angina it increases blood flow to the heart muscle.
Amlodac is product from Cadila Healthcare Ltd (Zydus Cadila). Zydus Cadila is an Indian pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The company is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in India. It is a manufacturer of generic drugs.
High blood pressure
High BP is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease.
There are two types of high blood pressure.
Primary (essential) hypertension
For most adults, there’s no identifiable cause of high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure, called primary (essential) hypertension, tends to develop gradually over many years.
Secondary hypertension
Some people have high blood pressure caused by an underlying condition. This type of high blood pressure, called secondary hypertension, tends to appear suddenly and cause higher blood pressure than does primary hypertension. Various conditions and medications can lead to secondary hypertension, including:
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Kidney problems
- Adrenal gland tumors
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to complications including:
Heart attack or stroke – High blood pressure can cause hardening and thickening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other complications.
Aneurysm – Increased blood pressure can cause your blood vessels to weaken and bulge, forming an aneurysm. If an aneurysm ruptures, it can be life-threatening.
Heart failure – To pump blood against the higher pressure in your vessels, the heart has to work harder. This causes the walls of the heart’s pumping chamber to thicken (left ventricular hypertrophy). Eventually, the thickened muscle may have a hard time pumping enough blood to meet your body’s needs, which can lead to heart failure.
Also, in some cases, it can lead to vision loss, difficulty in memory and understanding.
Angina pectoris
Angina pectoris is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease. It occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t get as much blood as it needs. This usually happens because one or more of the heart’s arteries is narrowed or blocked, also called ischemia.
Angina usually causes uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest.
The pain or discomfort occurs when the heart must work harder, usually during physical exertion. Doesn’t come as a surprise, and episodes of pain tend to be alike. It usually lasts a short time (5 minutes or less)
Dosage
As directed by your Physician
Administration
As directed by your Physician
Adverse Reactions/ Side Effects
Headache, peripheral oedema, fatigue, somnolence, nausea, abdominal pain, flushing, dyspepsia, palpitations, dizziness. Rarely pruritus, rash, dyspnoea, asthenia, muscle cramps, hypotension, bradycardia, conductive system delay & CCF
Warnings and Precautions
General
Since the vasodilation induced by Amlodipine is gradual in onset, acute hypotension has rarely been reported after oral administration. Nonetheless, caution as with any other peripheral vasodilator, should be exercised when administering Amlodipine, particularly in patients with severe aortic stenosis.
Beta-Blocker Withdrawal
Amlodipine is not a beta-blocker and therefore gives no protection against the dangers of abrupt beta-blocker withdrawal; any such withdrawal should be by gradual reduction of the dose of beta-blocker.
Patients with Hepatic Failure
Since Amlodipine is extensively metabolized by the liver and the plasma elimination half-life (t1/2) is 56 hours in patients with impaired hepatic function, caution should be exercised when administering Amlodipine to patients with severe hepatic impairment.
Special Precautions
Impaired liver or renal function, CHF, sick- sinus sundrome, severe ventricular dysfunction, hypertropic cardiomyopathy, severe aortic stenosis. Caution when used in patients with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. Elderly, children, pregnancy & lactation.
Contraindications
Known hypersensitivity to dihydropyridnes. Pregnancy and Lactation.
Drug Interactions
In vitro data indicate that Amlodipine has no effect on the human plasma protein binding of digoxin, phenytoin, warfarin, and indomethacin.
Effect of Other Agents on Amlodipine
Cimetidine: Co-administration of Amlodipine with cimetidine did not alter the pharmacokinetics of Amlodipine.
Grapefruit juice: Co-administration of 240 mL of grapefruit juice with a single oral dose of Amlodipine 10 mg in 20 healthy volunteers had no significant effect on the pharmacokinetics of Amlodipine.
Maalox1 (antacid): Co-administration of the antacid Maalox with a single dose of Amlodipine had no significant effect on the pharmacokinetics of Amlodipine.
Sildenafil: A single 100 mg dose of sildenafil (Viagra®2) in subjects with essential hypertension had no effect on the pharmacokinetic parameters of Amlodipine. When Amlodipine and sildenafil were used in combination, each agent independently exerted its own blood pressure lowering effect.
Effect of Amlodipine on Other Agents
Atorvastatin: Co-administration of multiple 10 mg doses of Amlodipine with 80 mg of atorvastatin resulted in no significant change in the steady state pharmacokinetic parameters of atorvastatin.
Digoxin: Co-administration of Amlodipine with digoxin did not change serum digoxin levels or digoxin renal clearance in normal volunteers.
Ethanol (alcohol): Single and multiple 10 mg doses of Amlodipine had no significant effect on the pharmacokinetics of ethanol.
Warfarin: Co-administration of Amlodipine with warfarin did not change the warfarin prothrombin response time.
In clinical trials, Amlodipine has been safely administered with thiazide diuretics, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, long-acting nitrates, sublingual nitroglycerin, digoxin, warfarin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and oral hypoglycemic drugs.
Overdosage
–
Storage
Store in tightly closed container in cool location at 59° to 86°F.
Mechanism of Action
The mechanism of the antihypertensive action of Amlodac is due to a direct relaxant effect on vascular smooth muscle. The precise mechanism by which Amlodac relieves angina has not been fully determined but Amlodac reduces total ischemic burden by the following 2 actions:
Amlodac dilates peripheral arterioles and thus, reduces the total peripheral resistance against which the heart works. Since the heart rate remains stable, this unloading of the heart reduces myocardial energy consumption and oxygen requirements.
The mechanism of action of Amlodac also probably involves dilatation of the main coronary arteries and coronary arterioles, both in normal and ischemic regions. This dilatation increases myocardial oxygen delivery in patients with coronary artery spasm.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/angina/symptoms-causes/syc-20369373
http://www.drugsupdate.com/brand/generic/Amlodipine/9868/11
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadila_Healthcare