Losartan belongs to a group of medicines known as angiotensin-II receptor antagonists.
Angiotensin II is a substance produced in the body which binds to receptors in blood vessels causing them to contract. As a result, blood pressure increases. Losartan prevents the binding of angiotensin II to these receptors by causing the blood vessels to relax which in turn lowers the blood pressure. Losartan slows the decrease of kidney function in patients with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Adizar is used:
• to treat patients with high blood pressure (hypertension) including in adults, children and adolescents aged 6-18 years.
• to protect the kidney in hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes, with laboratory findings of impaired renal function and proteinuria ≥0.5 g/day (a condition in which urine contains abnormally high amount of protein).
• to treat patients with chronic heart failure when the treatment with some drugs known as angiotensin convering enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors – medications used for blood pressure lowering) are not considered appropriate by your doctor. If your heart failure has been stabilized by an ACE inhibitor, you should not swith to losartan
• in patients with high blood pressure and a thickening of the left ventricle, Adizar has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke (“LIFE” indication).
Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure. Your doctor will decide on the appropriate dose of Adizar depending on your condition and whether you are taking other medicines. It is important to continue the treatment for as long as your doctor prescribes it in order to maintain good control of your blood pressure.
Adult patients with high blood pressure
Treatment usually starts with 50 mg losartan (one Adizar tablet 50 mg) once a day. The maximal blood pressure lowering effect should be reached 3-6 weeks after beginning treatment. In some patients the dose may later be increased to 100 mg losartan (two Adizar tablets 50 mg or one tablet of Adizar 100 mg) once daily.
If you have the impression that the effect of losartan is too strong or too weak, please talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Use in children and adolescents
Children below the age of 6 years
Adizar is not recommended for use in children below 6 years of age as it has not been shown to be effective in this age group.
Children aged 6-18 years
The recommended starting dose in patients with body weight between 20 and 50 kg is 0,7 mg of losartan per kg of body weight administered once a day (up to 25 mg Adizar). The doctor may increase the dose if the blood pressure could not be controlled.
Other forms of this medicinal product may be more suitable for children; ask your doctor or pharmacist.
Adult patients with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes
Treatment usually starts with 50 mg Adizar once a day. The dose may later be increased to 100 mg losartan (two Adizar tablets 50 mg or one tablet of Adizar 100 mg) once daily depending on your blood pressure response.
Adizar tablets may be administered with other blood pressure lowering medicines (e.g. diuretics, calcium channel blockers, alpha- or beta-blockers, and centrally acting agents) as well as with insulin and other commonly used medicines that decrease the level of glucose in the blood (e.g. sulfonylureas, glitazones and glucosidase inhibitors).
Adult patients with heart failure
Treatment usually starts with 12,5 mg losartan (one Adizar tablet 12,5 mg) once a day. Normally the dose should be increased gradually per week (i.e. 12,5 mg daily during the first week, 25 mg daily during the second week, 50 mg daily during the third week, 100 mg daily during the fourth week, 150 mg daily during the fifth week) up to the maintenance dose as prescribed by your doctor. A maximum dose of 150 mg losartan (e.g. 3 tablets of Adizar 50 mg or one table Adizar 100 mg and one tablet Adizar 50 mg) may be used once a day.
In treatment of patients with heart failure, losartan is usually combined with diuretics (medicines that increase the amount of fluid eliminated through the kidneys) and/or digitalis (medicine that helps the heart to be healthier and more effective) and/or beta-blocker.
Dosage in special patient groups
The doctor may recommend a lower dose, particularly at the start of treatment of specific patients such as those treated with high dose diuretics, patients with liver impairment or patients aged more than 75 years. Losartan use is not recommended in patients with severe liver impairment (see section “Do not take Adizar”).
Method of administration
The tablet should be swallowed with a glass of water. You should try to take your tablets at the same time each day. It is important that you continue to take Adizar until your doctor tells you otherwise.
