Losartan

Patient Information

Losartan is a prescription medicine called an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). Blood pressure is the force in your blood vessels when your heart beats and when your heart rests. You have high blood pressure (hypertension) when the force is too much. Losartan can help your blood vessels relax so your blood pressure is lower. Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) is an enlargement of the walls of the left chamber of the heart. LVH can happen from several things. High blood pressure is the most common cause of LVH. Type 2 diabetes is a type of diabetes that happens mainly in adults. If you have diabetic nephropathy it means that your kidneys do not work properly because of damage from the diabetes.

What Losartan is used for:

• Alone or with other blood pressure medicines to lower high blood pressure (hypertension).
• To lower the chance of stroke in patients with high blood pressure and a heart problem called left ventricular hypertrophy. Losartan may not help Black patients with this problem.
• To slow the worsening of diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy) in patients with type 2 diabetes who have or had high blood pressure. Losartan has not been studied in children less than 6 years old or in children with certain kidney problems.

Tell your doctor or pharmacist before using Losartan if :

• You are allergic to any of the ingredients in it.
• You are pregnant or planning to become pregnant
• You are breast-feeding. It is not known if Losartan passes into your breast milk. You should choose either to take Losartan or breast-feed, but not both.
• You are vomiting a lot or having a lot of diarrhea
• You have liver problems
• You have kidney problems
• You are taken any other medicines

Know all the medicines you take. Keep a list of them with you to show your doctor and pharmacist.

How to take your Losartan:

Take Losartan exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Your doctor may change your dose if needed.

• Losartan can be taken with or without food.

What to do if you forget to take a dose :

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it is close to your next dose, do not take the missed dose. Just take the next dose at your regular time.

What to do if you take too many tablets :

• If you take too much Losartan, call your doctor or Poison Control Center, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away

Side-effects :

Losartan may cause the following side effects that may be serious:

• Injury or death of unborn babies.
• Allergic reaction. Symptoms of an allergic reaction are swelling of the face, lips, throat or tongue. Get emergency medical help right away and stop taking Losartan.
• Low blood pressure (hypotension). Low blood pressure may cause you to feel faint or dizzy. Lie down if you feel faint or dizzy. Call your doctor right away.
• For people who already have kidney problems, you may see a worsening in how well your kidneys work. Call your doctor if you get swelling in your feet, ankles, or hands, or unexplained weight gain.

The most common side effects of Losartan in people with high blood pressure are: Colds (upper respiratory infection),Dizziness, Stuffy nose, Back pain.

The most common side effects of Losartan in people with type 2 diabetes with diabetic kidney disease are:

Diarrhea, Tiredness, Low blood sugar, Chest pain, High blood potassium, Low blood pressure.

Tell your doctor if you get any side effect that bothers you or that won’t go away. This is not a complete list of side effects. For a complete list, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Reporting of side effects:

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor, pharmacist or nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed here.

You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: www.dorsapharma.com/(ADR Form)

By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.