Amlovas VS

Indication

Amlodipine and Valsartan combination is indicated for the treatment of hypertension, to lower blood pressure:

• In patients not adequately controlled on monotherapy.
• As initial therapy in patients likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals.

Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions.

Dosage & Administration

Amlodipine is an effective treatment of hypertension in once daily doses of 2.5 mg-10 mg while Valsartan is effective in doses of 80 mg-320 mg. In clinical trials with Amlodipine and Valsartan combination using Amlodipine doses of 5 mg-10 mg and Valsartan doses of 160 mg-320 mg, the antihypertensive effects increased with increasing doses.

General Considerations

Dose once daily. The dosage can be increased after 1 to 2 weeks of therapy to a maximum of one 10/320 mg tablet once daily as needed to control blood pressure. Amlovas VS may be administered with or without food. Amlovas VS may be administered with other antihypertensive agents.

Add-on Therapy

A patient whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled with amlodipine alone or with valsartan alone may be switched to combination therapy with Amlovas VS.

Replacement Therapy

For convenience,patients receiving amlodipine and valsartan from separate tablets may instead wish to receive tablets of Amlovas VS containing the same component doses.

Initial Therapy

A patient may be initiated on Amlovas VS if it is unlikely that control of blood pressure would be achieved with a single agent. The usual starting dose is Amlovas VS 5/160 mg once daily in patients who are not volume depleted.

Precautions

Impaired Hepatic Function, 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. 

Nursing Mothers: It is not known whether Amlodipine is excreted in human milk. In the absence of this information, it is recommended that nursing be discontinued while Amlodipine is administered.

Pediatric Use: Safety and effectiveness of Amlodipine and Valsartan combination in pediatric patients have not been established.