5/160/12.5, 5/160/25, 10/160/12.5, 10/160/25, 10/320/25
amlodipine besylate/valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide
Consumer Medicine Information
What Exforge HCT is used for
Exforge HCT is used to control high blood pressure, also called hypertension.
Everybody has blood pressure. This pressure helps get your blood all around your body. Your blood pressure may be different at different times of the day, depending on how busy or worried you are. You have hypertension (high blood pressure) when your blood pressure stays higher than is needed, even when you are calm and relaxed.
High blood pressure increases the workload of the heart and blood vessels. If it continues for a long time, it can damage the blood vessels in the brain, heart and kidneys. This can lead to stroke, heart failure or kidney failure. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attacks. Lowering your blood pressure reduces the chance of these disorders happening.
Exforge HCT contains amlodipine besylate, valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide. These medicines reduce blood pressure in three different ways.
1. Amlodipine besylate blocks the movement of calcium into the cells of the heart and blood vessels. As a result, they relax blood vessels and increase the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart while reducing its workload.
2. Valsartan blocks the effect of angiotensin II, which is a substance in the body that tightens blood vessels and makes your blood pressure rise. When the effect of angiotensin II is blocked, your blood vessels relax and your blood pressure goes down.
3. Hydrochlorothiazide helps reduce the amount of excess fluid in the body by increasing the amount of urine produced. This helps lower your blood pressure.
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why this medicine has been prescribed for you.
Your doctor may have prescribed it for another purpose.
There is not enough information to recommend the use of Exforge HCT in children.
This medicine is only available with a doctor's prescription. It is not addictive.
Before you take Exforge HCT
When you must not take it
Do not take Exforge HCT if you have ever had an allergic reaction after taking:
amlodipine besylate, valsartan or hydrochlorothiazide (the active ingredients in Exforge HCT)
medicines belonging to a group of chemicals called dihydropyridines, used to treat blood pressure and other heart problems
medicines belonging to a group of chemicals called sulfonamide-derived (such as some antibiotics eg. Bactrim® trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole)
any of the other ingredients listed at the end of
