AZOR Warnings and Precautions

Reviewing AZOR warnings and precautions with your healthcare provider prior to starting treatment can help minimize risks and potentially dangerous interactions. Before taking AZOR, let your healthcare provider know if you have certain health conditions, such as liver or kidney disease, congestive heart failure, or any allergies. Warnings and precautions with AZOR also extend to women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

 

AZOR: What Should I Tell My Healthcare Provider?

You should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking AZOR™ (amlodipine and olmesartan) if you have:
 
  • Liver disease, including liver failure, cirrhosis, or hepatitis
  • Congestive heart failure (CHF)
  • Chest pain (angina)
  • Low blood sodium (hyponatremia)
  • Kidney disease or kidney failure
  • Any allergies, including allergies to food, dyes, or preservatives.
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Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:
 
  • Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant
  • Breastfeeding.
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Make sure to tell your healthcare provider about any other medicines you are taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
 

Specific AZOR Warnings and Precautions

Some of the warnings and precautions to be aware of prior to taking AZOR include the following:
 
 
  • Sometimes, AZOR can lower blood pressure too much. This is most likely to happen in people who have low sodium levels in the blood or those who are dehydrated.
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  • In general, calcium channel blockers (including amlodipine, one of the components of AZOR) should not be used by people who have congestive heart failure (CHF). However, amlodipine does not usually seem to have a negative effect on heart failure.
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  • If you have severe coronary artery disease, there is a low possibility that when starting AZOR or increasing your dose, it can make chest pain worse and may increase your chances of a heart attack.
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  • If you have kidney disease, check with your healthcare provider before taking AZOR. In some people, AZOR can make certain kidney problems worse.
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  • The liver helps to remove AZOR from the body. If you have liver disease, your body may not handle AZOR as well as it should.
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  • If you have chest pain (angina) caused by a blocked or narrow artery in the heart, AZOR can potentially make this problem worse (which could result in a heart attack).
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  • AZOR can interact with certain medications (see AZOR Drug Interactions).
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  • AZOR is considered a pregnancy Category C or D medication (depending on the trimester of pregnancy). This means that AZOR may not be safe when used during pregnancy (see AZOR and Pregnancy).
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  • It is not known if AZOR passes through breast milk. Therefore, if you are breastfeeding or plan to start breastfeeding, discuss this with your healthcare provider prior to taking the drug (see AZOR and Breastfeeding).
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(AZOR Warnings and Precautions Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;