CARDURA ® is a drug based on Doxazosin mesylate.
THERAPEUTIC GROUP: Blocker of alpha-adrenergic receptors.
IndicationsAction mechanismStudies and clinical effectiveness Usage and dosage instructionsWarnings Pregnancy and lactationInteractionsContraindicationsUndesirable effects
Directions CARDURA ® Doxazosin
CARDURA ® is indicated for the treatment of essential arterial hypertension.
Mechanism of action CARDURA ® Doxazosin
Doxazosin, taken orally by means of CARDURA ®, is absorbed at the gastro-intestinal level, reaching the maximum plasma concentrations between the second and fourth hour of administration. Metabolized almost completely to the liver, it is excreted, after a long half-life (about 22 hours), mainly through the faeces.
Mostly bound to plasma proteins, CARDURA ® is able to selectively act on alpha 1 adrenergic receptors expressed on the surface of vascular smooth muscle cells, inhibiting their activation and consequent contraction. In systemic terms, this effect results in a reduction of peripheral arteriolar vasoconstriction, with a decrease in post-load and arterial pressure.
The therapeutic effect of CARDURA ® which is realized in the hypotensive role of doxazosine, appears about 2 hours after its intake, to maximize between the fourth and sixth hours.
The aforementioned haemodynamic effects, which inevitably also translate into a regression of left ventricular hypertrophy, are accompanied by metabolic ones, with a reduction in plasma lipid concentrations and cardiovascular risk. All this guarantees an important preventive action against cardiovascular diseases.
Studies carried out and clinical efficacy
ASOCIA STUDY: EFFECTIVENESS OF DOXAZOSIN IN HYPERTENSION
This important study, conducted on approximately 3600 patients, showed how the administration of doxazosin (4 or 8 mg / day), for a few weeks, could determine a drop in systolic pressure from 161 mmHg to 142 mmHg in the first 4 weeks of treatment, up to 136 mmHg in the sixteenth week. The same trend was observed for diastolic blood pressure, with a reduction from 95 to 84 mmHg in the first 4 weeks, up to just 80 mmHg at the sixteenth week of treatment.
2. DOXAZOSIN IN THE TREATMENT OF RESISTANT ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION
Doxazosin has been used with enormous therapeutic success in the treatment of arterial hypertension resistant to common drug therapy. The data show a reduction in blood pressure levels from 159/92 mmHg to 126/73 mmHg, recorded in about 100 patients treated with doxazosin for 2 months at a daily dose of between 2 and 16 mg.
3. DOXAZOSIN IN CARDIOVASCULAR PROTECTION
Unlike many other antihypertensive drugs, doxazosin also seems to combine a metabolic effect with the hypotensive action, guaranteeing a significant reduction in the plasma concentrations of LDL cholesterol and above all of the oxidized portion of this lipoprotein. This important metabolic effect could represent an additional weapon in the protection from cardiovascular diseases.
Method of use and dosage
CARDURA ® 2/4 mg doxazosin tablets: in the treatment of high blood pressure, the therapeutic procedure involves the administration of 1 mg of doxazosin (half a 2 mg tablet) for the first 2 weeks. If the hypotensive effect obtained is not the one sought, the dosage could be adjusted up to a maximum of 16 mg / day.
Given the long half-life of the drug, it could be used once daily.
The optimization of hypotensive efficacy could also be obtained through the concomitant administration of another antihypertensive drug.
IN ANY CASE, BEFORE TAKING CARDURA ® Doxazosin - THE REQUIREMENT AND CHECK OF YOUR DOCTOR IS NECESSARY.
Warnings CARDURA ® Doxazosin
It is desirable to start the therapeutic protocol with modest dosages of doxazosin (1 mg / day), in order to avoid the classic symptoms of postural hypotension that follow the intake of CARDURA ® in the initial phase of the treatment, or in the subsequent adjustments of the dosage.
Considering also the important hepatic metabolism, CARDURA ® should be administered with particular care - frequently monitoring blood pressure levels and liver function - in patients with hepatic insufficiency or reduced functionality of this organ.
Side effects associated with hypotension, such as dizziness, drowsiness and dizziness, could compromise the patient's normal perceptual abilities and make the use of machinery and driving vehicles dangerous.
PREGNANCY AND BREASTFEEDING
Experimental studies have not shown any particular harmful effects on the health of the fetus, except at dosages decidedly higher than the therapeutic ones. Despite these evidences, the intake of CARDURA ® in pregnancy should be as limited as possible, given the potential haemodynamic effects that could compromise placental perfusion and correct fetal development, and the absence of clinical trials.
The same argument is replicable during lactation, given the possible secretion of doxazosin in breast milk.
Interactions
The various studies published in the literature seem to agree on the good tolerability profile of doxazosin and on the absence of evident pharmacological interactions, risky for the patient's health.
Noteworthy is the increase in hypotensive efficacy recorded following the concomitant intake of CARDURA ® with other antihypertensive drugs; effect that can be used successfully even for therapeutic purposes.
Contraindications CARDURA ® Doxazosin
CARDURA ® is contraindicated in case of hypersensitivity to one of its components and severe reduction in liver function.
Undesirable effects - Side effects
The vasodilatory action of the drug appears to be partly responsible for the side effects associated with CARDURA ® therapy. More precisely, asthenia, malaise, edema, dizziness, headache, dizziness and somnolence were the most commonly observed during various clinical trials.
To these are added others, some of which of modest clinical relevance, complained of by patients undergoing therapy, and collected during the post-marketing phase, including: hypotension, sensation of heat, paresthesia, redness, gastro-intestinal disorders, bronchospasm, changes in heart rate and excretory capacity.
Note
CARDURA ® can be sold only under medical prescription.
