Inhibace Consumer Medicine Information

cilazapril tablets 0.5mg, 2.5mg, 5mg

What is in this leaflet

This leaflet answers some common questions about INHIBACE.

It does not contain all the available information.

It does not take the place of talking to your doctor or pharmacist.

All medicines have risks and benefits. Your doctor has weighed the risks of your taking INHIBACE against the benefits expected for you.

If you have any concerns about taking this medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Keep this leaflet with the medicine. You may need to read it again.

What INHIBACE is used for

INHIBACE contains the active ingredient cilazapril, which belongs to a group of medicines known as ACE (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme) inhibitors. Cilazapril is used to treat raised blood pressure and chronic heart failure.

Cilazapril works by inhibiting (blocking) natural chemicals produced by the body which cause raised blood pressure. This inhibition leads to reduction of blood pressure. When given together with digitalis (a medicine which increases the strength of the heart) and/or diuretics (water tablets) this will also reduce the strain on your heart and enable it to work more efficiently, thus easing the symptoms of chronic heart failure.

Before you take INHIBACE

When you must not take it

Do not take INHIBACE:

If you are allergic to cilazapril or other medicines of the same class (called ACE-Inhibitors).
If you are allergic to any of the ingredients which it contains.
If you are pregnant or breast-feeding.
If you have previously suffered from angioedema (swelling of the skin, particularly of the face and around the lips), when taking other ACE-Inhibitors.

Before you start to take it

Make sure your doctor knows if you:

are on a salt restricted diet.
have recently suffered from vomiting or diarrhoea.
have a heart, liver or kidney condition.
are undergoing dialysis
are taking other medicines including those not prescribed by your doctor, especially if you have been treated with a diuretic (water tablets) for a long time before starting treatment with INHIBACE. This is extremely important, as using more than one medicine at the same time can strengthen or weaken the effect of the medicines. For example, other medicines that lower high blood pressure can increase the effect of your medicine. Potassium supplements or potassium-containing salt substitutes may lead to unwanted effects if they are taken together with these tablets. In addition you should tell your doctor if your taking any of the following types of medications: NSAIs (for the relief of pain e.g. aspirin), lithium (Lithicarb^�, Priadel^�) antidiabetic medicines (for lowering blood sugar in diabetes), or if you are undergoing treatment for wasp or bee stings.
are about to have any form of operation that requires an anaesthetic. This includes dental surgery.

You must tell your doctor if:

you are pregnant, if you think you are pregnant of if you or intend to become pregnant.
You should not take INHIBACE tablets if you are pregnant.
you are breastfeeding or wish to breastfeed.
You should not breast feed if you are taking INHIBACE tablets.

Use in children

Children should not be given INHIBACE.

How to take INHIBACE

Always take your medicine exactly as your doctor tells you to and do not stop treatment unless
he/she tells you to do so.
If you have high blood pressure, your normal starting dose will be between 0.5mg and 1.25mg per day. Your doctor may change the dose to suit your needs throughout your treatment. The full effect of your medicine is not usually seen until after two to four weeks of treatment and the effect then remains constant.
If your blood pressure is not adequately controlled by INHIBACE, your doctor may prescribe a diuretic (water tablet) which will work together with your medicine to further control your blood pressure.
If you are elderly, your doctor will probably start you on 0.5mg a day if you are suffering from hypertension and 0.5mg if you suffer from chronic heart failure. After starting therapy your doctor may adjust your dose, depending on your response.
If you have kidney or liver problems, your doctor may start you on a lower dose than normal before adjusting your dose depending on your response.
If you have chronic heart failure, treatment usually starts with a daily dose of 0.5mg in addition to digitalis and/or diuretics. Depending on your individual response to the treatment your doctor may decide to increase the daily dose. If you are already taking diuretics your doctor may reduce the dose of the diuretic, or even stop you taking the diuretic at all before you start taking INHIBACE.
Take your medicine before or after meals, and swallow the tablets whole with water or another non-alcoholic drink. The medicine should be taken at around the same time each day, ideally in the morning.
If you miss a dose, you should never make it up by doubling the next dose. Instead, you should simply continue with the next dose when it is due.
Do not change the prescribed dose of your medicine yourself. If you think the effect of your medicine is too weak or too strong, talk to your doctor.

In case of an overdose

Immediately telephone your doctor or National Poisons Information Centre (telephone 0800 POISON or 0800 764 766) for advice or go to Accident and Emergency at your nearest hospital if you think that you or anyone else may have taken too much INHIBACE. Do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning. You may need urgent medical attention. Keep telephone numbers for these places handy.

If you are not sure what to do, contact your doctor or pharmacist.

Side Effects

Side effects from taking INHIBACE are infrequent. However, contact your doctor immediately if:

you feel very dizzy or faint.
your face, lips, tongue and throat become swollen.
you develop a persistent pain in the abdomen.

Other less serious undesirable effects include headache, coughing, tiredness, indigestion, rashes, breathing problems, wheezing, irritation or inflammation of the nose, sinusitis, bronchitis and feeling sick. In addition, INHIBACE may affect tests your doctor may perform on blood or urine samples.

Please remind your doctor that you are taking INHIBACE if you ever have any of these tests.

If you are concerned about these or any other unwanted effects, talk to your doctor.

After taking INHIBACE

Keep the pack away from sources of heat (store below 25�C).
Keep this medicine out of the reach and sight of children.
This medicine must not be used after the expiry date printed on the pack.
If the pharmacist has repacked the medicine for you, there may not be an expiry date on the pack. Return any left over medicine to your pharmacist. Only keep it if your doctor tells you to.
REMEMBER this medicine is for you. Only a doctor can prescribe it for you. Never give it to
others. It may harm them even if their symptoms are the same as yours.

Further information

You can get more information on INHIBACE from your doctor or pharmacist.

What can you do to reduce your high blood pressure?

If you are overweight try to maintain a lower body weight.

Take more exercise; ask your doctor for advice.

If you drink alcohol, try to reduce your daily consumption.

If you are a smoker, try to give up smoking.

Product Description

What INHIBACE looks like

The white tablets contain 0.5mg of cilazapril and have "CIL 0.5" imprinted on one side.
The pink tablets contain 2.5mg of cilazapril and have "CIL 2.5" imprinted on one side.
The reddish-brown tablets contain 5mg of cilazapril and have "CIL 5.0" imprinted on one side.

Ingredients

All the tablets contain the additional ingredients lactose, maize starch, sodium stearyl fumarate, methyl hydroxypropyl cellulose, talc, and the colorants titanium dioxide (E171). In addition the 2.5mg and 5mg tablets also contain red iron oxide (E172) and the 2.5mg tablets also contain yellow iron oxide (E172).

All the tablets are scored so that they can easily be broken into halves.

This leaflet was prepared 11 October 1999.