Isosorbide Description

Generic Name : ISOSORBIDE

Pronunciation : (eye soe sor' bide)

Trade Name(s) : Cardicap, Ditrate, Isordil, Isordil Sublingual, Sorbitrate

Why it is prescribed: Isosorbide affects the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart, thereby preventing and relieving chest pain i.e., angina pectoris.

When it is to be taken:
1. Isosorbide comes in the form of regular, sublingual, chewable, and extended-release tablets and in extended-release capsules. Follow the instructions on your prescription label carefully.
2. Isosorbide chewable and sublingual tablets are used to relieve chest pain during attacks and to prevent pain before activities known to provoke attacks e.g., climbing stairs, sexual activity, walking uphill, and being outside in cold weather. If needed to prevent attacks, the dose may be repeated every two or three hours. Carry the tablets with you at all times.
3. When an attack occurs, sit down. Chew a chewable tablet thoroughly and swallow it, or place a sublingual tablet under your tongue or between your cheek and gum and allow it to dissolve. Do not swallow sublingual tablets. Try not to swallow saliva too often until they dissolve.
4. The drug starts to work within three minutes. If pain is not relieved within five or 10 minutes, take another dose. Call for assistance or go to a hospital emergency department if pain persists after you have taken three doses and 15 to 30 minutes have passed.
5. Isosorbide regular tablets and extended-release tablets and capsules are to be swallowed and not chewed or dissolved in your mouth on a regular schedule to prevent angina. They are not used to relieve chest pain during an attack because they take too long to take effect.
6. Regular tablets usually are taken three or four times a day on an empty stomach or at least one hour before or two hours after meals.
7. Extended-release tablets and capsules usually are taken every 6, 8 or 12 hours.

How it should be taken:
1. Isosorbide comes in the form of regular, sublingual, chewable, and extended-release tablets and in extended-release capsules. Follow the instructions on your prescription label carefully.
2. Isosorbide chewable and sublingual tablets are used to relieve chest pain during attacks and to prevent pain before activities known to provoke attacks e.g., climbing stairs, sexual activity, walking uphill, and being outside in cold weather. If needed to prevent attacks, the dose may be repeated every two or three hours. Carry the tablets with you at all times.
3. When an attack occurs, sit down. Chew a chewable tablet thoroughly and swallow it, or place a sublingual tablet under your tongue or between your cheek and gum and allow it to dissolve. Do not swallow sublingual tablets. Try not to swallow saliva too often until they dissolve.
4. The drug starts to work within three minutes. If pain is not relieved within five or 10 minutes, take another dose. Call for assistance or go to a hospital emergency department if pain persists after you have taken three doses and 15 to 30 minutes have passed.
5. Isosorbide regular tablets and extended-release tablets and capsules are to be swallowed and not chewed or dissolved in your mouth on a regular schedule to prevent angina. They are not used to relieve chest pain during an attack because they take too long to take effect.
6. Regular tablets usually are taken three or four times a day on an empty stomach or at least one hour before or two hours after meals.
7. Extended-release tablets and capsules usually are taken every 6, 8 or 12 hours.

Special Instruction :
1. If you take isosorbide on a regular schedule to prevent angina but you continue to have attacks, contact your doctor.
2. Do not stop taking it without consulting your doctor. Stopping the drug abruptly can cause chest pain. Your doctor probably will want to decrease your dose gradually.
3. Keep all appointments with your doctor and report any chest pain that you experience.
4. Isosorbide can lose its effectiveness over time. Contact your doctor if you no longer get relief from your prescribed dose.
5. Follow your doctor's instructions to stop smoking, lose weight, rest, and avoid situations that cause angina.
6. If you take isosorbide on a regular schedule, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it and take any remaining doses for that day at evenly spaced intervals.

Side Effects :
1. Headache. If you take isosorbide on a reguar schdeule, take it with meals. If headaches persist, ask your doctor if you may take aspirin or acetaminophen. Do not take any medication for headache or change your dose without consulting your doctor.
2. Dizziness, lightheadedness, weakness, faintness, and fast heartbeat, especially while standing or when in a warm place. Lie or sit down. Contact your doctor if these effects persist or if you faint.
3. Stomach upset. Contact your doctor if this problem is severe or persists. 4. Blurred vision, dry mouth, skin rash. Contact your doctor immediately.

Other Precautions :
1. Before you take isosorbide, tell your doctor if you have intestinal disease or if you ever had a bad reaction to amyl nitrite, erythrityl tetranitrate, nitroglycerin, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate.
2. Before you use isosorbide, tell your doctor what prescription and nonprescription drugs you are taking, especially high blood pressure medication, tranquilizers, and beta-blockers.
3. Ask your doctor for advice about the safe use of alcohol; it can make side effects worse.
4. Do not allow anyone else to take this medication.

Storage Conditions :
1. Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of the reach of children.
2. Store it at room temperature, away from excess heat or cold.