Eplerenone

Eplerenone is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure. Eplerenone belongs to a group of drugs called mineralocorticoid receptor blockers. These work by blocking the action of aldosterone, a natural substance in the body that raises blood pressure.

This medication comes in tablet form and is taken once or twice a day, with or without food.

Common side effects of eplerenone include diarrhea, coughing, fatigue, and hedache. Eplerenone can also cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how eplerenone affects you.

Eplerenone is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Eplerenone may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Inspra

Serious side effects have been reported with eplerenone. See the "Eplerenone Precautions" section.

Common side effects of eplerenone include:

• diarrhea
• coughing
• fatigue
• dizziness
• flu-like symptoms
• increased potassium levels

This is not a complete list of eplerenone side effects.Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Especially tell your doctor if you take:

• angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors such as benazepril (Lotensin), captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), fosinopril (Monopril), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), and quinapril (Accupril)
• angiotensin II receptor antagonists such as eprosartan (Teveten), irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), olmesartan (Benicar), and valsartan (Diovan)
• aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn)
• cimetidine (Tagamet)
• clarithromycin (Biaxin)
• danazol (Danocrine)
• delavirdine (Rescriptor)
• diltiazem (Cardizem, Dilacor, Tiazac)
• erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Erythrocin)
• fluconazole (Diflucan)
• fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem)
• fluvoxamine (Luvox)
• HIV protease inhibitors such as indinavir (Crixivan), ritonavir (Norvir), and saquinavir (Fortovase, Invirase)
• isoniazid (INH, Nydrazid)
• lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid)
• metronidazole (Flagyl)
• nefazodone (Serzone)
• nelfinavir (Viracept)
• troleandomycin (TAO)
• verapamil (Calan, Covera, Isoptin, Verelan)
• zafirlukast (Accolate)
• St. John's Wort

This is not a complete list of eplerenone drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Serious side effects have been reported with eplerenone, including:

• chest pain
• tingling in the arms and legs
• loss of muscle tone
• weakness of heaviness in legs
• confusion
• lack of energy
• cold, gray skin
• irregular heartbeat

Eplerenone can cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how eplerenone affects you.

Do not take eplerenone if you:

• are allergic to eplerenone or to any of its ingredients
• have a high potassium level in your blood
• have decreased kidney function
• are taking medications that inhibit the CYP3A4 enzyme, including ketoconazole (Nizoral), clarithromycin (Biaxin), nefazodone (Serzone), ritonavir (Norvir), and nelfinavir (Viracept)
• have type 2 diabetes with microalbuminuria
• have increased levels of creatinine in your blood
• are taking potassium supplements or other medications that can increase the level of potassium in your blood

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of eplerenone, salt substitutes containing potassium should be avoided.

Your doctor may also prescribe a low-salt diet; follow these instructions carefully.

Before taking eplerenone, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:

• are allergic to eplerenone or to any of its ingredients
• have or have had high blood levels of potassium
• have diabetes
• have gout
• have liver disease
• have kidney disease
• are pregnant or breastfeeding

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamines, and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X - are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Eplerenone falls into category B. There are no well-done studies that have been done in humans with eplerenone. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication, and the babies did not show any medical issues related to this medication.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

It is not known if eplerenone crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using eplerenone.

Take eplerenone exactly as prescribed.

This medication comes in tablet form and is taken once or twice a day, with or without food.

If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take 2 doses of eplerenone at the same time.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The dose your doctor recommends may be based on the following:

• the condition being treated
• how you respond to this medication
• other medications you are taking

The recommended starting dose of eplerenone is 50 mg once daily. The dose may be increased to 50 mg 2 times daily based on individual reponse. The maximum recommended dose of eplerenone is 100 mg daily.

If you take too much eplerenone, call your healthcare provider or local Poison Control Center or seek emergency medical attention right away.

If eplerenone is administered by a healthcare provider in a medical setting, it is unlikely that an overdose will occur. However, if overdose is suspected, seek emergency medical attention.

• Store eplerenone at room temperature in a tightly closed, light-resistant container.
• Keep this and all medications out of the reach of children.