Eplerenone tablets

About eplerenone

Heart failure means that your heart is not functioning as well as it should. In a healthy heart, a set amount of blood enters the heart during each heartbeat and is pumped out again. If you have heart failure, your heart cannot cope with pumping the full amount of blood in each heartbeat.

If you have heart failure which affects the left ventricle of your heart (left-sided heart failure), it can cause you to be short of breath. It can also be associated with a cough. This is generally worse when you are active (for example, walking uphill) or when you are lying flat in bed.

Eplerenone is prescribed alongside other medicines to help prevent worsening of heart failure in people who have left-sided heart failure. It works by blocking the action of a substance in your body called aldosterone. High levels of aldosterone can cause changes that result in heart failure. By blocking aldosterone, eplerenone helps prevent heart failure from worsening.

Before taking eplerenone

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine can only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start taking eplerenone it is important that your doctor knows:

• If you have any problems with the way your kidneys work, or if you have any problems with the way your liver works.

• If you have been told you have high levels of potassium in your blood.

• If you are pregnant, trying for a baby or breastfeeding.

• If you are taking any other medicines. This includes any medicines you are taking which are available to buy without a prescription, as well as herbal and complementary medicines.

• If you have ever had an allergic reaction to a medicine.

How to take eplerenone

• Before you start the treatment, read the manufacturer's printed information leaflet from inside the pack. It will give you more information about eplerenone, and it will also provide you with a full list of the side-effects which you could experience from taking it.

• Take eplerenone exactly as your doctor tells you to. You will be prescribed one tablet to take every day. There are two strengths of tablet - you will be prescribed the lower-strength (25 mg) tablet to begin with, but this will be increased to the 50 mg strength tablet within a few weeks.

• Swallow the tablet whole with a drink of water. You can take eplerenone either with or without food.

• Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, you can generally take eplerenone at a time of day you find easy to remember. It is best, however, to try to take the tablets at the same time of day each day, as this will help you to remember to take your doses regularly.

• If you forget to take a dose, take one as soon as you remember, if this is during the same day as your dose was due. If you do not remember until the following day, leave out the forgotten dose from the previous day and take the dose that is due as normal. Do not take two doses at the same time to make up for a missed dose.

Getting the most from your treatment

• Try to keep your regular appointments with your doctor. This is so your doctor can check on your progress. The salt balance in your bloodstream may be upset by eplerenone and your doctor will want you to have a blood test from time to time to check the amount of potassium in your blood.

• Try to avoid things with a high potassium content, such as 'salt substitutes'. This is so the level of potassium in your body does not become too high.

• For most people with heart failure, regular exercise is advised. The healthier the heart, the better it will pump. The level of exercise recommended varies from person to person, so before you start to exercise, get the go-ahead from your doctor.

• Your doctor may advise you to make some lifestyle changes, like losing weight if you are overweight, reducing the amount of alcohol you drink, and stopping smoking. Following this advice will help to improve the health of your heart.

• If you buy any medicines 'over the counter', check with a pharmacist that they are suitable to take with your prescribed medicines. This is because some painkillers called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may not be recommended for you.

• If you are due to have an operation or dental treatment, tell the person carrying out the treatment which medicines you are taking.

• Treatment with eplerenone is usually long-term, so continue to take the tablets regularly until you are advised otherwise by your doctor.

Can eplerenone cause problems?

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the more common ones associated with eplerenone. The best place to find a full list of the side-effects which can be associated with your medicine, is from the manufacturer's printed information leaflet supplied with the medicine. Alternatively, you can find an example of a manufacturer's information leaflet in the reference section below. Speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

If you experience any other symptoms which you think may be due to the tablets, speak with your doctor or pharmacist for further advice.

How to store eplerenone

• Keep all medicines out of the reach and sight of children.

• Store in a cool, dry place, away from direct heat and light.
  

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