Aliskiren

Aliskiren is a prescription medication used to treat high blood pressure. Aliskiren belongs to a group of drugs called renin inhibitors, which work by reducing renin production in the body to reduce blood pressure.

Aliskiren is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children with high blood pressure (known medically as hypertension). 

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

• Amturnide

• Tekamlo

• Tekturna

• Tekturna HCT

• Valturna

Aliskiren may cause serious side effects:

• Injury or death to an unborn baby. See "Drug Precautions" and FDA Warning.
• Low blood pressure (hypotension). Your blood pressure may get too low if you also take water pills, are on a low-salt diet, get dialysis treatments, have heart problems, or get sick with vomiting or diarrhea. Lie down if you feel faint or dizzy. Call your doctor right away.
• Angioedema: Aliskiren can cause swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat, arms and legs or the whole body. Get medical help right away and tell your doctor if you get any one or more of these symptoms. Angioedema can happen at any time while you are taking aliskiren.

Common side effects of aliskiren include:

•       diarrhea
•       cough
•       dizziness
•       headache
•       flu-like symptoms
•       back pain
•       tiredness
•       high levels of potassium in the blood (hyperkalemia)

Less common side effects include rash.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. These are not all of the possible side effects of aliskiren. For a complete list of side effects, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

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

• a kind of medicine called angiotensin receptor blocker or angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor.
• atorvastatin (medicine to lower cholesterol in your blood).
• water pills (also called “diuretics”).
• medicines for treating fungus or fungal infections.
• cyclosporine (a medicine used to suppress the immune system).
• potassium-containing medicines, potassium supplements, or salt substitutes containing potassium.
• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen or naproxen).

Your doctor or pharmacist will know what medicines are safe to take together.

Do not take aliskiren:

• If you get pregnant. Stop taking aliskiren and call your doctor right away. If you plan to become pregnant, talk to your doctor about other treatment options for your high blood pressure. 
• If you have diabetes and are taking a kind of medicine called an angiotensin-receptor-blocker or angiotensin-converting-enzyme-inhibitor.
• If you are allergic to any of its ingredients.

Aliskiren has not been studied in children under 18 years of age.

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 aliskiren, salt substitutes containing potassium should be avoided.

Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including whether you:

• have kidney problems.
• are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
• are breastfeeding. It is not known if aliskiren passes into your breast milk. You should choose either to take aliskiren or breastfeed, but not both.
• are allergic to any of the ingredients in aliskiren.
• have ever had a reaction called angioedema, to an ACE inhibitor medicine. Angioedema causes swelling of the face, lips, tongue, throat, arms, and legs, and may cause difficulty breathing.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins 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.

This medication falls into category D. Aliskiren can cause harm or death to an unborn baby. Talk to your doctor about other ways to lower your blood pressure if you plan to become pregnant. If you get pregnant while taking aliskiren, tell your doctor right away.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding. It is not known if aliskiren passes into your breast milk. You should choose either to take aliskiren or breastfeed, but not both.

• Take aliskiren once a day, at the same time each day. As with any blood pressure medication, it is important to take aliskiren on a regular daily basis exactly as prescribed by your doctor.
• Aliskiren can be taken by itself or safely in combination with other medicines to lower high blood pressure. Your doctor may change your dose if needed.
• Aliskiren can be taken with or without food.
• 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. 
• If you take too much aliskiren, call your doctor or Poison Control Center, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.
• Aliskiren oral pellets are provided in a dispensing capsule. Do not swallow the capsules containing aliskiren oral pellets. Do not empty the contents of the capsule directly into the mouth. Do not chew or crush the contents of the capsule.

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 how you respond to this medication.

The recommended dose range of aliskiren for the treatment of adults with high blood pressure is 150 mg to 300 mg daily.

The recommended starting dose of aliskiren for the treatment of high blood pressure in children (20 kg to 50 kg) is 37.5 mg or 75 mg once daily. The maximum recommended dose is 150 mg.

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

If aliskiren 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 aliskiren tablets at room temperature between 59° to 86°F (15°-30°C).
• Keep aliskiren in the original prescription bottle in a dry place. Do not remove the desiccant (drying agent) from the bottle.
• Keep aliskiren and all medicines out of the reach of children.

WARNING: FETAL TOXICITY

• When pregnancy is detected, discontinue this medication as soon as possible. 
• Drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and death to the developing fetus.