Atacand

Drug Name

Atacand (Candesartan)

Drug Uses

Atacand treats high blood pressure. It may also be used to treat heart failure in certain patients and for other conditions as determined by your doctor.

How Taken

Use Atacand as directed by your doctor. Check the label on the medicine for exact dosing instructions.

Take Atacand by mouth with or without food.

Continue to take Atacand even if you feel well. Do not miss any doses.

Drug Class and Mechanism

Atacand is an angiotensin II receptor blocker. It works by helping to relax blood vessels. This helps to lower blood pressure.

Missed Dose

If you miss a dose of Atacand , take it as soon as possible. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not take 2 doses at once.

Storage

Store at the room temperature away from moisture and sunlight. Keep out of the reach of children.

Warnings/Precautions

Do not use Atacand if:

• you are allergic to any ingredient in Atacand;
• you are pregnant.

Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.

Important: Do not drive or perform other possibly unsafe tasks until you know how you react to it.

Your blood pressure should be lower within 2 weeks. It may take 4 to 6 weeks for Atacand to produce its maximum effect.

Patients who take medicine for high blood pressure often feel tired or run down for a few weeks after starting treatment. Be sure to take your medicine even if you may not feel "normal." Tell your doctor if you develop any new symptoms.

Lifestyle changes (eg, not smoking, weight loss, exercise, a low-salt diet) may also help to lower blood pressure.

Tell your doctor or dentist that you take Atacand before you receive any medical or dental care, emergency care, or surgery.

Lab tests, including blood pressure monitoring, may be performed while you use Atacand. These tests may be used to monitor your condition or check for side effects. Be sure to keep all doctor and lab appointments.

Use Atacand with caution in the elderly; they may be more sensitive to its effects, especially kidney problems, low blood pressure, or high blood potassium levels.

Atacand should be used with extreme caution in children; safety and effectiveness in children have not been confirmed.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Do not take Atacand after the third month of pregnancy. It may cause injury or death to the fetus. Stop taking Atacand as soon as possible if you become pregnant. It is not known if Atacand is found in breast milk. Do not breast-feed while taking Atacand.

Possible Side Effects

Check with your doctor if any of these most common side effects persist or become bothersome:

• dizziness;
• headache;
• runny nose;
• sore throat;
• upper respiratory tract infection.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these severe side effects occur:

• severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue);
• chest pain;
• decreased urination;
• fainting;
• fever, chills, or persistent sore throat;
• irregular heartbeat;
• muscle pain or tenderness;
• severe or persistent dizziness;
• yellowing of the skin or eyes.

More Information

Atacand is to be used only by the patient for whom it is prescribed. Do not share it with other people.

What is the shelf life of the pills?

• The expiry date is mentioned on each blister. It is different for different batches. The shelf life is 2 years from the date of manufacture and would differ from batch to batch depending on when they were manufactured.

Other Useful Information:

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy waves often used in medicine. 2. The use of energy waves to diagnose or treat disease.

Replantation: 1. Literally, the act of planting again. 2. In surgery, the restoration of any part of the body to its original site. Also known as reimplantation.

The Chinese surgeon Zhong Wei Chen (1929-2004) was the "father of replantation." Dr. Chen was the first to reattach a severed hand with success which he did in 1963. Dr. Chen also developed many microsurgical procedures including techniques for preserving severed extremities, reattaching amputated fingers and thumbs, reconstructing muscles and repairing nerves and blood vessels.

Rheumatism: Rheumatism is an older term, used to describe any of a number of painful conditions of muscles, tendons, joints, and bones.

Rheumatism conditions have been classified as either localized, regional, or generalized. Localized rheumatism conditions include bursitis and tendinitis. Regional rheumatism conditions include chest wall pain, temporomandibular joint pain, and myofascial pain syndromes. Generalized rheumatism conditions include fibromyalgia.

Another category of rheumatism is psychogenic rheumatism. With this term it is understood that the patient is reporting inconsistent pains of muscles and joints that do not correspond to true anatomy and physiology. The patient is felt to have underlying psychological causes for the symptoms.

Rheumatology: A subspecialty of internal medicine that involves the non-surgical evaluation and treatment of the rheumatic diseases and conditions. Rheumatic diseases and conditions are characterized by symptoms involving the musculoskeletal system. Many of the rheumatic diseases and conditions feature immune system abnormalities. Therefore, rheumatology also involves the study of the immune system. Classical rheumatology training includes 4 years of medical school, 1 year of internship in internal medicine, 2 years of internal medicine residency, and 2 years of rheumatology fellowship. There is a subspecialty board for rheumatology certification. The American College of Rheumatology is the official organization acting on behalf of the field of rheumatology in the United States.

T cell: A type of white blood cell that is of key importance to the immune system and is at the core of adaptive immunity, the system that tailors the body's immune response to specific pathogens. The T cells are like soldiers who search out and destroy the targeted invaders.

Immature T cells (termed T-stem cells) migrate to the thymus gland in the neck, where they mature and differentiate into various types of mature T cells and become active in the immune system in response to a hormone called thymosin and other factors. T-cells that are potentially activated against the body's own tissues are normally killed or changed ("down-regulated") during this maturational process.

There are several different types of mature T cells. Not all of their functions are known. T cells can produce substances called cytokines such as the interleukins which further stimulate the immune response. T-cell activation is measured as a way to assess the health of patients with HIV/AIDS and less frequently in other disorders.

T cell are also known as T lymphocytes. The "T" stands for "thymus" -- the organ in which these cells mature. As opposed to B cells which mature in the bone marrow.

Teleology: The study of the ultimate purpose of the design of something in nature.

For example, "what is the true purpose of the nose?" is a teleological question and, to say that all evolutionary changes occur for a definite purpose is a teleological explanation of evolution.

"Teleology" comes from ancient Greek roots but it (and teleological) did not enter English until the 18th century. It is a compound of the Greek "tele-, telos," meaning "end or purpose" + the ending "logos" meaning "the science or study of" = the study of the ends or purposes.

Testosterone: A "male hormone" -- a sex hormone produced by the testes that encourages the development of male sexual characteristics, stimulates the activity of the male secondary sex characteristics, and prevents changes in them following castration. Chemically, testosterone is 17-beta-hydroxy-4-androstene-3-one.

Testosterone is the most potent of the naturally occurring androgens. The androgens cause the development of male sex characteristics, such as a deep voice and a beard; they also strengthen muscle tone and bone mass.

High levels of testosterone appear to promote good health in men, for example, lowering the risks of high blood pressure and heart attack. High testosterone levels also correlate with risky behavior, however, including increased aggressiveness and smoking, which may cancel out these health benefits.

Testosterone may be given to treat medical conditions, including female (but not male) breast cancer, hypogonadism (low gonadal function) in the male, cryptorchism (nondescent of the testis into the scrotum), and menorrhagia (irregular periods).