What is Concor?
Concor tablet is a Bisoprolol, which is a beta-blocker. It works by altering the functioning of the heart and the blood vessels. As it facilitates the flow of blood in the body, it is used to treat different heart conditions.
One salient problem addressed by Concor is hypertension. In this condition, blood flow is met with resistance, due to which the heart has to exert great force to pump blood around the body.
The pressure then negatively impacts the blood vessels, damaging them as a result. It also promotes clot formation, causing dangers like stroke and heart attack.
Concor helps in abating the symptoms of high blood pressure when used in conjunction with other drugs.
Concor Tablet Formula:
The main chemical used in Concor is Bisoprolol.
What are the available forms of Concor Tablet in Pakistan?
Concor is available only in the form of a tablet.
Concor Tablet dosage and strength:
Concor is available in different dosages, which are:
- Tab Concor 2.5mg
- Tab Concor 5 mg
- Tab Concor 10 mg
The dosage administered in patients with hypertension is contingent on the severity of the patient’s condition. However, the common dosage of Bisoprolol for hypertensive patients is 5 mg, PO, to be taken once, daily.
For the treatment of heart failure, the initial dosage is 1.25mg PO, once daily. Initially, it needs to be taken daily for the first 48 hours, after which, the dosage is increased to 2.5 mg, once a day, for the first month. Then, it should be increased to 5 mg, to be taken once, daily.
In patients with angina pain, the total dosage of Concor ranges from 5 to 20 mg, once a day.
How to take Concor Tablet?
Concor needs to be swallowed whole, with a glass of water. Do not crush or chew the tablet. It is also important that patients not alter the dosage or frequency of the medicine on their own and strictly follow their prescription.
Moreover, do not stop taking Concor tablet even when your blood pressure feels normal. Beta-blockers, when abruptly stopped, can lead to adverse effects in the body. Sudden discontinuation also increases the risk of diseases and conditions like rebound tachycardia, heart attack, and arrhythmias.
Thus, keep taking the medicine at the same time, every day.
If you want to discontinue Concor, you need to tell your healthcare provider about it. They will gradually taper your off the drug and provide an alternate drug that will help in improving the symptoms of the condition then.
Concor Tablet Uses
Concor is used for treating a wide range of ailments related to cardiovascular health. Here is a list of the many Concor tablet uses:
- Hypertensive Retinopathy
- Renovascular Hypertension
- Hypertensive Encephalopathy
- Hypertensive Heart Disease
- Heart failure
- Heart attacks
- Strokes
- Kidney problems
- Kidney problems due to diabetes
- Hypertension
- Myocardial Infarction
- Pre-eclampsia/Eclampsia
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Hypertensive Congestive Heart Failure
- Recent myocardial infarction
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Diabetic Nephropathy
- Hypertensive Heart (w/ CHF) and Renal Disease
- Hypertensive Renal Disease
- Tachycardia
- Arrhythmias
- Atrial flutter
- Early intervention within 12 hours of myocardial ischemia
What are the side effects of Concor?
Even though the Concor (Bisoprolol) helps the body get a reprieve from very serious health conditions, it does, however, have certain side effects. Here are the various Concor side effects:
- Fatigue
- Asthenia
- Orthostatic hypotension
- Pancreatitis
- Constipation
- Flatulence
- Dry mouth
- Diarrhea
- Hemolytic anemia
- Leukopenia/neutropenia
- Thrombocytopenia
- Diabetes mellitus
- Inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion
- Gout
- Urticaria
- Alopecia
- Photosensitivity
- Erythema
- Flushing
- Diaphoresis
- Cutaneous pseudolymphoma
- Toxic epidermal necrolysis
- Stevens-Johnson syndrome
- Pruritus
- Visual loss
- Diplopia
- Blurred vision
- Tinnitus
- Photophobia
- Taste disturbances
- Olfactory disturbance
- Impotence.
- Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate
- Arthralgia
- Arthritis
- Myalgia
- Fever
- Vasculitis
- Eosinophilia
- Leukocytosis
- Paresthesia
- Vertigo
- Rash
- Photosensitivity
- Hyperkalemia- a life-threatening condition in which potassium levels rise in your body. To avoid hyperkalemia, serum potassium levels should be kept under check.
What are the risks and warnings for Concor Tablet?
Hypersensitivity
If you are allergic to beta-blockers, you should not take Concor. You should also refrain from taking any medicine with the same generic name. Whereas you can manage a mild allergic reaction with antihistamine and some care, a severe allergic reaction can be rather dangerous.
Known as anaphylactic shock, this reaction causes breakout of hives, pale skin, labored breathing, vomiting, nausea, excessive salivation, alongside swelling of the throat, which makes breathing even more challenging.
Other symptoms of anaphylaxis include swelling in the lips and tongue, wheezing, dizziness, hypotension, tingling in the feet, mouth, or scalp, the body becoming too warm. The pulse becomes weak and rapid, as the body shuts down from the reaction.
If the antidote is not administered within minutes, death can result as well. Therefore, be sure to steer clear of all the allergens, and inform your doctor of any such condition so they do not prescribe you beta-blockers in any form.
Pregnancy
Pregnant women should take Concor only when approved by their healthcare provider, and that too, after a careful risk versus benefit assessment. Otherwise, taking beta-blockers, especially during the second or third trimester, can harm the health of the baby.
Women of childbearing age need to care about leaving Concor tablet as soon as they get pregnant. However, do not make this decision on your own; tell your doctor about it so that they can taper you off the drug, safely.
Breastfeeding
Women who are breastfeeding should also not take Concor unless advised otherwise by their doctor. Concor can be passed off into breast milk, and thus can harm the health of the baby.
Heart block
People with complaints of heart problems like heart block should not use Concor.
Bradycardia
Bradycardia is a condition in which the heart rate is slower than normal. People suffering from Bradycardia should not take Concor, as it further slows down the heart rate. This then can prove life-threatening as well.
Diabetes
Diabetics need to take beta-blockers with extreme caution. Pancreases contain beta receptors that produce insulin. Taking beta-blockers can then alter the functioning of the pancreases, and thus, the production of insulin is also affected.
Therefore, people with diabetes need to be cautious with their use of Concor, as it can make moderation of blood sugar levels very difficult.
Conditions that lower blood pressure
People who are taking medications like diuretics, or those having health conditions like diarrhea, volume depletion, heatstroke, or infections that lower blood pressure need to exercise caution when using Concor.
As Concor also causes a decrease in blood pressure, the combinative effect can lead to very low BP, which can be life-threatening as well.
Heart conditions
If you have heart diseases like ischemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease in which blood pressure falls below normal, you need to be careful about using Concor, or any other beta-blocker.
Prior to taking any medicine that lowers blood pressure, you need to take a measure of the blood pressure, lest the medicine lowers blood pressure to dangerous levels.
Heart failure
People suffering from heart failure can undergo hypotension from taking Concor, as it causes drop in blood pressure.
Low BP in patients with heart failure, impairs renal functionality, which can then endanger health. Thus, such patients need to take Concor tablet with caution.
Aortic or mitral valve stenosis
If you have aortic or mitral valve stenosis or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that obstructs the flow of blood out of the left ventricle, you need to take beta-blockers with extreme caution.
Renal function impairment
Patients who have renal impairment need to be cautious when using beta-blockers. Your doctor will test serum creatinine and potassium levels regularly if you take Concor tablet with compromised renal functionality.
Similarly, patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy should also be cautious when using beta blockers.
Liver diseases
Liver helps in the metabolism and excretion of drugs in the body. However, when it does not work efficiently due to any condition or disease, drugs accumulate in the body, which then has grave implications for health. Thus, patients with any liver problem should be careful when using Concor.
Although rare, Concor can affect your liver function, causing cholestatic jaundice, which leads to fulminant jaundice. If this occurs, your healthcare provider will immediately need to stop the therapy.
Asthma and other respiratory conditions
Asthmatic people should not take beta-blockers. They can cause constriction of the bronchioles, making it hard for people to breathe. Symptoms of beta-blockers induced asthma include wheezing, coughing and tightness in the chest.
If you experience any of these side effects, you should visit your doctor immediately, as it can be life-threatening otherwise as well. People suffering from other respiratory conditions like bronchitis, emphysema, allergies should also avoid Concor tablet.
Anesthesia
People who are undergoing anesthesia may need to receive agents to lower blood pressure. Thus, beta-blockers should only be given to such patients if their blood pressure needs to be controlled, and there is not risk of hypotension.
Otherwise, it can lead to a life-threatening condition known as shock.
Hyperkalemia
Hyperkalemia is remarked by the presence of excessive potassium in the blood, which is a life-threatening condition. Beta-blockers can cause hyperkalemia.
People who are taking potassium supplements, have renal impairment or take a diet rich in potassium like dates and bananas have a greater risk of developing hyperkalemia. In order to prevent this fatal condition, they need to get their potassium levels checked frequently. They also need to avoid potassium-rich foods.
Oral hypoglycemics
Diabetics who are taking oral hypoglycemics or take insulin for controlling blood sugar levels should take Concor with caution.
Concor can cause blood sugar levels to fall to dangerous levels in a state known as hypoglycemia. Beta-blockers can also mask the symptoms of hypoglycemia, making the condition complicated.
Thus, drugs to control blood sugar should only be co-prescribed with beta-blockers if the benefit is greater than the risk.
Surgery
Individuals who are undergoing minor surgeries need to be cautious with their intake of Bisoprolol, as anesthetic agents can lower blood pressure to the point where it can become a life-threatening condition.
Therefore, if you are scheduled for surgery, you need to tell your physician about the medicines you are taking, and the health problems ailing you. They may also advise you to leave the last dose of the antihypertensive drug that you are taking.
Cardiac glycosides/calcium channel blockers and amiodarone
When Bisoprolol is taken with digoxin, verapamil, and amiodarone, it can cause heart block, ventricular dysfunction, and bradycardia. Thus, it is imperative that both drugs be not combined, or at least taken with caution, when leaving one out is not an option.
Anticoagulants or bleeding disorders
If you are taking anticoagulants for thinning of blood, or suffer from any bleeding disorder, you need to take Concor at the advice of the healthcare provider only.
Hyperthyroidism
Beta-blockers can mask the symptoms of hypothyroidism, making it hard for people to recognize the underlying problem of thyroid deficiency. Therefore, people with diagnosed case of hypothyroidism need to take beta-blockers with caution.
Pheochromocytoma
If you have pheochromocytoma, you need to be careful about not taking beta-blockers alone. Otherwise, it can lead to hypertensive crises or pulmonary edema.
Interactions between Concor Tablet and other medications:
As a beta-blocker, Concor can interact with other drugs that you might be taking. However, that does not mean that you stop taking your medicines on your own. Instead, you need to talk to your healthcare provider about it.
Some drugs that can interaction with Concor include:
- Potassium-sparing diuretics like spironolactone, triamterene, and eplerenone
- Antidiabetic medicines like metformin, pioglitazone, and others
- Insulins
- NSAIDs like ibuprofen, naproxen, indomethacin and others
- Vasodilators like nitroglycerin
- Lithium
- Corticosteroids like prednisolone
- Amphotericin B
- Statins like atrovastain, lovastatin, rosuvastatin and others
- Calcium channel blockers like verapamil
In order to prevent drug interactions, it is very important that you give your healthcare provider your complete and thorough medical history, including any ailments that you have, whether they be mental or physical, and any drugs you are taking for their management. Doctors then are able to prescribe medicines accordingly, successfully preventing any drug interactions.
What is the price of Concor in Pakistan?
The price of Concor 2.5 mg tablet in Pakistan in the year 2022 is Rs. 8.05, whereas a Concor 5 mg tablet costs Rs. 17.21. Concor 10mg tablet costs Rs. 29.35.
Concor Tablet storage conditions:
- Keep Concor out of reach and sight of children
- Store the medicine at room temperature
- Do not use the medicine after the expiration date has passed
- Protect the tablets from direct heat and sunlight.
How to buy Concor Tablet in Pakistan?
To buy Concor in Pakistan, you need to have a signed prescription on you. It is not an over-the-counter drug, and therefore you need to present the latest, authorized prescription to the pharmacist.
What is the generic name of Concor?
The generic name for Concor is Bisoprolol.
What medicines are available as alternatives to Concor in Pakistan?
Bisoprolol is available under different brand names. These include:
- Concor
- Zebeta
Conclusion:
Concor is a type of beta blockers, which are drugs that help in reducing blood pressure. They alter levels of certain hormones in the body, allowing for the blood to flow through the body with ease.
Beta blockers, therefore, take the pressure off of the heart, allowing it to beat more slowly. The heart also then does not have to beat with so much force.
Other than hypertension, Concor tablet addresses various cardiovascular diseases. It also helps to control the risk of fatal conditions like stroke, heart failure, heart attack, etc. Moreover, it also protects against kidney diseases, and certain complications brought on by diabetes.
However, Concor also leads to serious side effects in the body. It not only causes chronic ailments and conditions but also can perpetuate miscellaneous issues around the body. Therefore, Concor should only be taken at the discretion of the doctor.
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