Telmisartan + Hydrochlorothiazide

Arbitel Plus tablet is indicated for the treatment of hypertension, to lower blood pressure. Arbitel Plus can be used alone or with other antihypertensive agents. Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions.

Dosage & Administration

Usual starting dose of Telmisartan+ Hydrochlorothiazide is 80 mg + 12.5 mg once daily whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled with Telmisartan monotherapy 80 mg or controlled by 25 mg once daily of Hydrochlorothiazide or is controlled but who experiences hypokalemia. Telmisartan+ Hydrochlorothiazide can be titrated up to 160 mg + 25 mg as needed.

Common side effects include dizziness, drowsiness, tired feeling, flushing (warmth, redness, or tingly feeling), back pain, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain. Other adverse events include allergy, fever, leg pain, chest pain, insomnia, somnolence, and dry mouth, elevations of liver enzymes or serum bilirubin, leg cramps, myalgia, dermatitis. Other adverse events that have been reported includes weakness, gastric irritation, photosensitivity, urticaria, muscle spasm, restlessness.

Telmisartan
: Angiotensin II is formed from angiotensin I in a reaction catalyzed by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE, kininase II). Angiotensin II is the principal pressor agent of the renin-angiotensin system, with effects that include vasoconstriction, stimulation of synthesis and release of aldosterone, cardiac stimulation, and renal reabsorption of sodium. Telmisartan blocks the vasoconstrictor and aldosteronesecreting effects of angiotensin II by selectively blocking the binding of angiotensin II to the AT1 receptor in many tissues, such as vascular smooth muscle and the adrenal gland. Its action is therefore independent of the pathways for angiotensin II synthesis.
There is also an AT2 receptor found in many tissues, but AT2 is not known to be associated with cardiovascular homeostasis. Telmisartan has much greater affinity (>3,000-fold) for the AT1 receptor than for the AT2 receptor.
Telmisartan does not inhibit ACE (kininase II) nor does it bind to or block other hormone receptors or ion channels known to be important in cardiovascular regulation.
Blockade of the angiotensin II receptor inhibits the negative regulatory feedback of angiotensin II on renin secretion, but the resulting increased plasma renin activity and angiotensin II circulating levels do not overcome the effect of telmisartan on blood pressure.
Hydrochlorothiazide
: Hydrochlorothiazide is a thiazide diuretic. Thiazides affect the renal tubular mechanisms of electrolyte reabsorption, directly increasing excretion of sodium salt and chloride in approximately equivalent amounts. Indirectly, the diuretic action of hydrochlorothiazide reduces plasma volume, with consequent increases in plasma renin activity, increases in aldosterone secretion, increases in urinary potassium loss, and decreases in serum potassium. The renin-aldosterone link is mediated by angiotensin II, so coadministration of an ARB tends to reverse the potassium loss associated with these diuretics. The mechanism of the antihypertensive effect of thiazides is not fully understood.