Unipril Am

Uses

Patients with mild to moderate hypertension (alone or in combination with other antihypertensives).

The treatment of chronic stable and vasospastic angina.

Raynaud\'s disease.

Ramiprilis used for the following cases:

• Mild to severe hypertension
• Congestive Heart failure.
• To reduce the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction and death from cardiovascular events in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease.
• Proteinuric non-diabetic nephropathy.

Unipril Am is also used to associated treatment for these conditions: Anginal Pain, Cardiovascular Events, Chronic Stable Angina Pectoris, Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia, Hypertension,Essential, Mixed Dyslipidemias, Primary Hypercholesterolemia, Vasospastic AnginaCardiovascular Events, Diabetic Nephropathy, Heart Failure, Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF), High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), Myocardial Infarction, Nondiabetic proteinuric chronic kidney disease, Stroke, High risk cardiovascular event

How Unipril Am works

Mechanism of action on blood pressure

Amlodipine is considered a peripheral arterial vasodilator that exerts its action directly on vascular smooth muscle to lead to a reduction in peripheral vascular resistance, causing a decrease in blood pressure. Amlodipine is a dihydropyridine calcium antagonist (calcium ion antagonist or slow-channel blocker) that inhibits the influx of calcium ions into both vascular smooth muscle and cardiac muscle. Experimental studies imply that amlodipine binds to both dihydropyridine and nondihydropyridine binding sites, located on cell membranes. The contraction of cardiac muscle and vascular smooth muscle are dependent on the movement of extracellular calcium ions into these cells by specific ion channels. Amlodipine blocks calcium ion influx across cell membranes with selectivity. A stronger effect of amlodipine is exerted on vascular smooth muscle cells than on cardiac muscle cells . Direct actions of amlodipine on vascular smooth muscle result in reduced blood pressure .

Mechanism of action in angina

The exact mechanism by which amlodipine relieves the symptoms of angina have not been fully elucidated to this date, however, the mechanism of action is likely twofold:

Amlodipine has a dilating effect on peripheral arterioles, reducing the total peripheral resistance (afterload) against which the cardiac muscle functions. Since the heart rate remains stable during amlodipine administration, the reduced work of the heart reduces both myocardial energy use and oxygen requirements .

Dilatation of the main coronary arteries and coronary arterioles, both in healthy and ischemic areas, is another possible mechanism of amlodipine reduction of blood pressure. The dilatation causes an increase in myocardial oxygen delivery in patients experiencing coronary artery spasm (Prinzmetal's or variant angina) and reduces coronary vasoconstriction caused by smoking .

Ramipril inhibits the RAAS system by binding to and inhibiting ACE thereby preventing the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. As plasma levels of angiotensin II fall, less activation of the G-protein coupled receptors angiotensin receptor I (AT₁R) and angiotensin receptor II (AT₂R) occurs.

AT₁R mediates vasoconstriction, inflammation, fibrosis, and oxidative stress through a variety of signaling pathways. These include G_q coupling to the inositol triphosphate pathway, activation of phospholipases C, A₂, and D which contribute to eicosanoid production, activation of Ca^{2+ These counteracting effects are shared by the Mas receptor which is activated by Ang(1-7), a subtype of angiotensin produced by plasma esterases from AngI or by ACE2 from AngII produced through a secondary pathway by tonin and cathepsin G. Ang(1-7) also activates AT₂R although the bulk of its effect is mediated by MasR.}

ACE is also responsible for the breakdown of bradykinin. The resulting buildup of bradykinin due to ACE inhibition is thought to mediate the characteristic dry-cough as a side effect of ACE inhibitor medications.

Dosage

Unipril Am dosage

For treatment of both hypertension and angina pectoris, the usual initial dose is 5 mg once daily. If the desired therapeutic effect cannot be achieved within 2-4 weeks, the dose may be increased to a maximum dose of 10 mg once daily. Amlodipine 10 mg once daily provides symptomatic improvement in patients with Raynaud's disease.

Use in children: Use of Amlodipine in children (under 12 years of age) is not recommended.

Dosage of Ramipril must be adjusted according to the patient tolerance and response.

Hypertension: For the management of hypertension in adults not receiving a diuretic, the usual initial dose of Ramipril is 1.25 - 2.5 mg once daily. Dosage generally is adjusted no more rapidly than at 2 week intervals. The usual maintenance dosage in adults is 2.5 - 20 mg daily given as a single dose or in 2 divided doses daily. If BP is not controlled with Ramipril alone, a diuretic may be added.

Congestive heart failure after myocardial infarction: In this case, Ramipril therapy may be initiated as early as 2 days after myocardial infarction. An initial dose of 2.5 mg twice daily is recommended, but if hypotension occurs, dose should be reduced to 1.25 mg twice daily. Therapy is then titrated to a target daily dose of 5 mg twice daily.

Prevention of major cardiovascular events: In this case, the recommended dose is 2.5 mg once daily for the first week of therapy and 5 mg once daily for the following 3 weeks; dosage then may be increased, as tolerated, to a maintenance dosage of 10 mg once daily.

Side Effects

Amlodipine is generally well tolerated. The most commonly observed side effects are headache, peripheral oedema, palpitations, flushing, dizziness, nausea, abdominal pain.

Ramipril is generally well tolerated. Dizziness, headache, fatigue and asthenia are commonly reported side effects. Other side effects occurring less frequently include symptomatic hypotension, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, urticaria, oliguria, anxiety, amnesia etc. Angioneurotic oedema, anaphylactic reactions and hyperkalaemia have also been reported rarely.

Toxicity

Acute oral toxicity (LD50): 37 mg/kg (mouse) .

Overdose

An overdose of amlodipine could result in a high degree of peripheral vasodilatation with a possibility of reflex tachycardia. Significant and prolonged hypotension leading to shock and fatal outcomes have been reported .

Carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, impairment of fertility

Rats and mice treated with amlodipine maleate in the diet on a long-term basis for up to 2 years demonstrated no evidence of a carcinogenic effect of the drug. For the mouse, the highest dose was comparable to the maximum recommended human dose of 10 mg amlodipine per day. For the rat, the highest dose was measured to be about twice the maximum recommended human dose .

Mutagenicity studies using amlodipine maleate showed no drug-related gene or chromosomal effects .

There was no impact on the fertility of rats given oral amlodipine maleate (males for 64 days and females for 14 days before mating) at doses up to 10 mg amlodipine/kg/day (8 times the maximum recommended human dose) .

Use in pregnancy

The safety of amlodipine in human pregnancy or lactation has not been proven. Amlodipine is therefore considered a pregnancy category C drug . Use amlodipine only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk .

Use in nursing

Discontinue when administering amlodipine .

Symptoms of overdose may include excessive peripheral vasodilation (with marked hypotension and shock), bradycardia, electrolyte disturbances, and renal failure. Cases of ACE inhibitor induced hepatotoxicity have been reported in humans and presented as acute jaundice and elevated liver enzymes. Removal of the ACE inhbitor resulted in a decline in liver enzymes and re-challenge produced a subsequent increase.

There were no observed tumerogenic effects at chronic doses up to 500mg/kg/day to rats for 24 months or at doses up to 1000mg/kg/day to mice for 18 months. For both species doses were administered by gavage and equivalent to 200 time the maximum recommended human exposure based on body surface area.

No mutagenic activity was detected in the Ames test in bacteria, the micronucleus test in mice, unscheduled DNA synthesis in a human cell line, or a forward gene-mutation assay in a Chinese hamster ovary cell line. Several metabolites of ramipril also produced negative results in the Ames test.

No effects on fertility were seen in rats at doses up to 500mg/kg/day. No teratogenicity was observed in rats and cynomolgus monkeys at doses 400 times the maximum recommended human exposure nor in rabbites at 2 times the maximum recommended human exposure.

LD₅₀ 10 g/kg (rat). LD₅₀ 10.5 g/kg (mouse). LD₅₀ 1 g/kg (dog).

Precaution

Hypotension: Since the vasodilUse in renal failure

Although Amlodipine is excreted primarily via kidney, mild renal impairment does not appear to have an effect on the plasma concentrations. Severe renal impairment may however require a dosage reduction. Amlodipine is not dialyzable.

Use in patients with impaired hepatic function

Amlodipine half-life is prolonged in patient with impaired hepatic function. Amlodipine should therefore be administered at lower (5mg) initial dose in these patients.

Use in heart failure

An increased number of pulmonary oedema has been reported.atation induced by Amlodipine is gradual in onset, acute hypotension has rarely been reported after oral administration of Amlodipine. Nonetheless, caution should be exercised when administering the drug with any other peripheral vasodilator particularly in patients with severe aortic stenosis.

Cardiac failure: Patients with heart failure should be treated with caution. Calcium channel blockers, including Amlodipine, should be usedwith caution in patients with congestive heart failure, as they may increase the risk of future cardiovascular events and mortality.

Beta blocker withdrawal: Amlodipine gives no protection against the danger of abrupt beta blocker withdrawal; any such withdrawal should be gradualreduction of the dose of beta blocker.

Hepatic failure: The half-life of amlodipine is prolonged and AUC values are higher in patients with impaired liver function. Amlodipine should therefore be initiated at the lower end of the dosing range and caution should be used, both on initial treatment and when increasing the dose. Slow dose titration and careful monitoring may be required in patients with severe hepatic impairment.

Ramipril should be used with caution in patients with impaired renal function, hyperkalaemia, hypotension, and impaired hepatic function.

Interaction

Use of Amlodipine together with thiazide diuretics or angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of hypertension is additive. There are no hazardous interaction of Amlodipine with Digoxin, Cimetidine, Warfarin and food.

With Diuretics: Patients on diuretics, especially those in whom diuretic therapy was recently instituted, may occasionally experience an excessive reduction of blood pressure after initiation of therapy with ramipril.

With Potassium Supplements and Potassium-sparing Diuretics: Ramipril can attenuate potassium loss caused by thiazide diuretics. Potassium-sparing diuretics (spironolactone, amiloride, triamterene, and others) or potassium supplements can increase the risk of hyperkalemia.

Other: Neither ramipril nor its metabolites have been found to interact with food, digoxin, antacid, furosemide, cimetidine, indomethacin, and simvastatin. The combination of ramipril and propranolol showed no adverse effects on dynamic parameters (blood pressure and heart rate). The co-administration of ramipril and warfarin did not adversely affect the anticoagulant effects of the latter drug.

Volume of Distribution

21 L/kg , .

Elimination Route

Amlodipine absorbed slowly and almost completely from the gastrointestinal tract. Peak plasma concentrations are achieved 6-12 hours after oral administration. The estimated bioavailability of amlodipine is 64-90%. Steady-state plasma amlodipine levels are achieved after 7-8 days of consecutive daily dosing. Absorption is not affected by food .

The extent of absorption is at least 50-60%.. Food decreases the rate of absorption from the GI tract without affecting the extent of absorption. The absolute bioavailabilities of ramipril and ramiprilat were 28% and 44%, respectively, when oral administration was compared to intravenous administration. The serum concentration of ramiprilat was unchanged when capsules were opened and the contents dissolved in water, dissolved in apple juice, or suspended in apple sauce.

Half Life

The terminal elimination half-life of about 30–50 hours .

Plasma elimination half-life is 56 hours in patients with impaired hepatic function, titrate slowly when administering this drug to patients with severe hepatic impairment .

Plasma concentrations of ramiprilat decline in a triphasic manner. Initial rapid decline represents distribution into tissues and has a half life of 2-4 hours. The half life of the apparent elimination phase is 9-18 hours, which is thought to represent clearance of free drug. The half-life of the terminal elimination phase is > 50 hours and thought to represent clearance of drug bound to ACE due to its slow dissociation. The half life of ramiprilat after multiple daily doses (MDDs) is dose-dependent, ranging from 13-17 hours with 5-10 mg MDDs to 27-36 hours for 2.5 mg MDDs.

Clearance

Total body clearance (CL) has been calculated as 7 ± 1.3 ml/min/kg (0.42 ± 0.078 L/ h/kg) in healthy volunteers , .

Elderly patients show a reduced clearance of amlodipine with an AUC (area under the curve) increase of about 40–60%, and a lower initial dose may be required .

The renal clearance of ramipril and ramiprilat was reported to be 7.2 and 77.4 mL/min/1.73m². The mean renal clearance of ramipril and ramiprilat is reported to be 10.7 and 126.8 mL/min in healthy elderly patients with normal renal function, additionally the Cmax of ramiprilat is approximately 20% higher in this population. While the pharmacokinetics of ramipril appear unaffected by reduced renal function, the plasma concentration and half-life of ramiprilat are increased. In patient's with hepatic failure the concentration of ramipril is initially increased while the tmax of ramiprilat is prolonged due to a reduced ability to metabolize the drug. However, steady state concentrations of ramiprilat are the same in hepatic failure as in healthy patients.

Elimination Route

Elimination from the plasma occurs in a biphasic with a terminal elimination half-life of about 30–50 hours. Steady-state plasma levels of amlodipine are reached after 7-8 days of consecutive daily dosing . Amlodipine is 10% excreted as unchanged drug in the urine. Amlodipine can be initiated at normal doses in patients diagnosed with renal failure , .

Following oral administration, about 60% of the dose is eliminated in the urine as unchanged ramipril (6

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding use

Pregnancy: Safety in pregnancy has not been established.

Lactation: It is not known whether Amlodipine is excreted in breast milk. It is advised to stop breastfeeding during treatment with Amlodipine.

If pregnancy is detected, ramipril should be discontinued as early as possible unless continued use is considered life saving. Ramipril should not be used during lactation.

Contraindication

Amlodipine is contraindicated in patients with-

• Hypersensitivity to amlodipine, dihydropyridine derivatives or any of the excipients
• Shock (including cardiogenic shock)
• Obstruction of the outflow-tract of the left ventricle (e.g. high grade aortic stenosis)
• Unstable angina
• Hemodynamically unstable heart failure after acute myocardial infarction (during the first 28 days)
• Severe hypotension

It is contraindicated in patients who are hypersensitive to any component of this product and in patients with a history of angioedema related to previous treatment with a ACE inhibitor.

Special Warning

Children with hypertension from 6 years to 17 years of age: 2.5 mg once daily as a starting dose, up-titrated to 5 mg once daily if blood pressure goal is not achieved after 4 weeks. Doses in excess of 5 mg daily have not been studied in pediatric patients.

Children under 6 years old: The effect of amlodipine on blood pressure in patients less than 6 years of age is not known.

Elderly: Amlodipine used at similar doses in elderly or younger patients is equally well tolerated. Normal dosage regimens are recommended in the elderly, but increase of the dosage should take place with care.

Renal impairment: Changes in amlodipine plasma concentrations are not correlated with degree of renal impairment, therefore the normal dosage is recommended. Amlodipine is not dialysable.

Hepatic impairment: Dosage recommendations have not been established in patients with mild to moderate hepatic impairment; therefore dose selection should be cautions and should start at the lower end of the dosing range. The pharmacokinetics of Amlodipine have not been studied in severe hepatic impairment. Amlodipine should be initiated at the lowest dose (2.5 mg once daily) and titrated slowly in patients with severe hepatic impairment.

Dosage in renal impairment: For the patients with hypertension and renal impairment, the recommended initial dose is 1.25 mg Ramipril once daily. Subsequent dosage should be titrated according to individual tolerance and BP response, up to a maximum of 5 mg daily. For the patients with heart failure and renal impairment, the recommended dose is 1.25 mg once daily. The dose may be increased to 1.25 mg twice daily and up to a maximum dose of 2.5 mg twice daily depending upon clinical response and tolerability.

Use in children: No information is yet available on the use of Ramipril in children.

Acute Overdose

There is no well documented experience with Amlodipine overdosage. In case of clinically significant hypotension due to Amlodipine over dosage, calls for active cardiovascular support including monitoring of cardiac and respiratory function, elevation of extremities and attention to circulating fluid volume and urine output. Since Amlodipine is highly protein-bound, dialysis is unlikely to be of benefit.

Limited data on human overdosage are available. The most likely clinical manifestations would be symptoms attributable to hypotension. Because the hypotensive effect of Ramipril is achieved through vasodilation and effective hypovolemia, it is reasonable to treat Ramipril overdosage by infusion of normal saline solution.

Storage Condition

Keep out of the reach of children. Store below 30° C. Keep in the original package in a cool & dry place in order to protect from light and moisture.

Store at cool & dry place, protect from light and moisture.

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