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| |  Antihypertensive Teveten (Eprosartan Mesylate) Now Available In Canada TORONTO, ON -- January 8, 2001 -- Solvay Pharma Inc. announced that Teveten® (eprosartan mesylate) is now available in Canada by prescription for the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension. Teveten is the latest member of the newest class of antihypertensive drugs - angiotensin II receptor (AT(1)) antagonists (also referred to as Angiotensin Receptor Blockers - ARBs). It acts by blocking the effects of angiotensin II, a natural hormone which the body produces in order to increase blood pressure. "In addition to blocking angiotensin II receptors, there is evidence that Teveten may inhibit sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. The SNS plays an important role in regulating blood pressure," says Dr. George Carruthers, a clinical pharmacologist, former co-chair of the writing committee of the Canadian Guidelines for the Treatment of Hypertension and past-president of the Canadian Hypertension Society. Hypertension affects more than 20 percent of Canadians, putting them at increased risk of kidney damage, heart attack and stroke. According to the Canadian Heart Health Survey, only 42 percent of Canadians with high blood pressure are actually aware that they have been diagnosed with hypertension, and only about 16 percent are receiving adequate therapy.(1) Clinical trials have shown that Teveten is an efficacious and well- tolerated antihypertensive medication, providing 24-hour control of high blood pressure with once-daily dosing, regardless of patient age or gender.(2) Teveten's excellent systolic blood pressure control, potential SNS blocking activity, placebo-like tolerability profile, dosage flexibility and lack of known drug interactions, makes it the ARB of choice for older hypertensive patients where elevated systolic blood pressure is a particular concern.(3) Teveten is already available in countries including the United States, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Portugal. Last year, the World Health Organization and the International Society of Hypertension published their 1999 Hypertension Practice Guidelines, recommending that the goal of hypertension therapy be a normal blood pressure of less than 140/90.(4) For the first time, the guidelines state that the treatment of isolated systolic hypertension is at least as effective in reducing cardiovascular risk as the treatment of classical essential hypertension in middle-aged subjects. The Canadian Hypertension Society's recent recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension also point to the importance of managing systolic blood pressure.(5) "The challenge of the new era is to convince both doctors and patients that systolic blood pressure is an important factor in both diagnosing hypertension and selecting a therapy. We need to ensure that we use appropriate medications, such as Teveten, to effectively lower systolic pressure," says Dr. Luc Trudeau, director of the hypertension clinic at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, Quebec. The recommended starting dose of Teveten is 600 mg once daily. The dose may be increased to 800 mg daily depending on the patient's blood pressure response.(3,6)
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Related Link: Solvay Pharma Inc..
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