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Online Resources

The following resource links are provided to assist you in finding additional information about hypertension management. Please note: You will be leaving the Benicar.com website, and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. is not responsible for the content maintained on any third-party sites. For more information, please see our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

General Interest

American Academy of Family Physicians
The national association of family doctors.

American College of Physicians – American Society of Internal Medicine (ACP-ASIM)
The nation's largest medical specialty society.

American Heart Association
The official website of the American Heart Association.

American Medical Association
The nation’s leader in promoting professionalism in medicine and setting standards for medical education, practice, and ethics.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
An NIH-sponsored site with general information on diseases of the heart, lungs, and blood.

National Institutes of Health
The federal focal point for medical research in the U.S.

Physician’s Weekly
Highlights and analyses of medical news.

Practice Management/Payer Resources
This American College of Cardiology site includes up-to-date information and emerging trends in practice management, health plans, reimbursement, and healthcare policy issues.

Society of General Internal Medicine
To promote improved patient care, research, and education in primary care.

Journals

American Heart Journal
A trusted resource for cardiologists and general practice physicians for more than 70 years.

American Journal of Hypertension
A peer-reviewed journal that specializes in the study of hypertension.

Annals of Internal Medicine
The official journal of the American College of Physicians.

Circulation
Journal of the American Heart Association involving circulatory issues such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and peripheral vascular disease.

Clinical Cardiology
A peer-reviewed journal for advances in cardiovascular disease.

Coronary Artery Disease
Provides an international forum for the dissemination of clinical and laboratory research results.

General Practice Online
International Journal of General Practice and Primary Care.

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
The journal's primary purpose is to publish original papers pertaining to clinical investigations and case reports, and to review articles pertinent to the specialty of family practice.

Journal of the American College of Cardiology
Over 25,000 cardiologists from the U.S. and around the world are members of the ACC.

New England Journal of Medicine
One of the most respected journals in medicine.

The Journal of the American Medical Association
An international peer-reviewed general medical journal, which began publication in 1983.

The Lancet
One of the premier British journals.

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Indication

BENICAR and BENICAR HCT are indicated for the treatment of hypertension. They may be used alone or in combination with other antihypertensive agents. BENICAR HCT is not indicated for initial therapy.

Important Safety Information

USE IN PREGNANCY

When used in pregnancy during the second and third trimesters, drugs that act directly on the renin-angiotensin system can cause injury and even death to the developing fetus. When pregnancy is detected, BENICAR or BENICAR HCT should be discontinued as soon as possible. See WARNINGS, Fetal/Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality in the prescribing information.

Hypotension in Volume- or Salt-Depleted Patients
In patients with an activated renin-angiotensin system, such as volume- and/or salt-depleted patients (eg, those being treated with high doses of diuretics), symptomatic hypotension may occur after initiation of treatment with BENICAR. Treatment should start under close medical supervision. If hypotension does occur, the patient should be placed in the supine position and, if necessary, given an intravenous infusion of normal saline. A transient hypotensive response is not a contraindication to further treatment, which usually can be continued without difficulty once the blood pressure has stabilized.

Impaired Renal Function
In studies of ACE inhibitors in patients with unilateral or bilateral renal artery stenosis, increases in serum creatinine or blood urea nitrogen (BUN) have been reported. There has been no long-term use of olmesartan medoxomil in patients with unilateral or bilateral renal artery stenosis, but similar results may be expected.

The prescribing information for BENICAR HCT also includes the following warnings regarding its hydrochlorothiazide component:

  • BENICAR HCT is not recommended in patients with severe renal impairment, and is contraindicated in patients with anuria or hypersensitivity to other sulfonamide-derived drugs

Fetal/Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality
Thiazides cross the placental barrier and appear in cord blood. There is a risk of fetal or neonatal jaundice, thrombocytopenia, and possibly other adverse reactions that have occurred in adults.

Hepatic Impairment
Thiazides should be used with caution in patients with impaired hepatic function or progressive liver disease, since minor alterations of fluid and electrolyte balance may precipitate hepatic coma.

Hypersensitivity Reaction
Hypersensitivity reactions to hydrochlorothiazide may occur in patients with or without a history of allergy or bronchial asthma, but are more likely in patients with such a history.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Thiazide diuretics have been reported to cause exacerbation or activation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Lithium Interaction
Lithium generally should not be given with thiazides.

Adverse Events

  • The withdrawal rates due to adverse events (AEs) were similar with BENICAR and BENICAR HCT to placebo: BENICAR (2.4% vs. 2.7%); BENICAR HCT (2.0% vs. 2.0%)
  • The incidence of AEs with BENICAR and BENICAR HCT was similar to placebo
    • The only AE that occurred in >1% of patients treated with BENICAR and more frequently than placebo was dizziness (3% vs. 1%)
    • AEs reported in >2% of patients taking BENICAR HCT and more frequently than placebo included nausea (3% vs. 0%), hyperuricemia (4% vs. 2%), dizziness (9% vs. 2%), and upper respiratory tract infection (7% vs. 0%)

Dosing and Administration

  • No initial dosage adjustments are recommended with BENICAR in elderly or in moderate to marked renal impairment*/hepatic dysfunction
    • In patients with possible depletion of intravascular volume (eg, patients on diuretics, particularly with impaired renal function), BENICAR should be initiated under close medical supervision and consideration given to use of a lower starting dose
  • For BENICAR HCT, dose selection for an elderly patient should be cautious, usually starting at the low end of the dosage range

*Creatinine clearance <40 mL/min

Please see full prescribing information for BENICAR and BENICAR HCT.

The information on this page is intended to be used by U.S. healthcare professionals only. Patients and consumers are directed to BENICAR and BENICAR HCT Product Information.

The photos depict models, not actual patients or healthcare professionals.

Benicar and Benicar HCT are promoted by Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
© 2008 Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.

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