DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
General
COREG CR should be taken once daily in the morning with food. COREG CR should be swallowed as a whole capsule. COREG CR and/or its contents should not be crushed, chewed, or taken in divided doses.
Alternative Administration
The capsules may be carefully opened and the beads sprinkled over a spoonful of applesauce. The applesauce should not be warm because it could affect the modified-release properties of this formulation. The mixture of drug and applesauce should be consumed immediately in its entirety. The drug and applesauce mixture should not be stored for future use. Absorption of the beads sprinkled on other foods has not been tested.
Heart Failure
DOSAGE MUST BE INDIVIDUALIZED AND CLOSELY MONITORED BY A PHYSICIAN DURING UP-TITRATION. Prior to initiation of COREG CR, it is recommended that fluid retention be minimized. The recommended starting dose of COREG CR is 10 mg once daily for 2 weeks. Patients who tolerate a dose of 10 mg once daily may have their dose increased to 20, 40, and 80 mg over successive intervals of at least 2 weeks. Patients should be maintained on lower doses if higher doses are not tolerated.
Patients should be advised that initiation of treatment and (to a lesser extent) dosage increases may be associated with transient symptoms of dizziness or lightheadedness (and rarely syncope) within the first hour after dosing. Thus during these periods they should avoid situations such as driving or hazardous tasks, where symptoms could result in injury. In addition, COREG CR should be taken with food to slow the rate of absorption. Vasodilatory symptoms often do not require treatment, but it may be useful to separate the time of dosing of COREG CR from that of the ACE inhibitor or to reduce temporarily the dose of the ACE inhibitor. The dose of COREG CR should not be increased until symptoms of worsening heart failure or vasodilation have been stabilized.
Fluid retention (with or without transient worsening heart failure symptoms) should be treated by an increase in the dose of diuretics.
The dose of COREG CR should be reduced if patients experience bradycardia (heart rate <55 beats/minute).
Episodes of dizziness or fluid retention during initiation of COREG CR can generally be managed without discontinuation of treatment and do not preclude subsequent successful titration of, or a favorable response to, COREG CR.
Left Ventricular Dysfunction Following Myocardial Infarction
DOSAGE MUST BE INDIVIDUALIZED AND MONITORED DURING UP-TITRATION. Treatment with COREG CR may be started as an inpatient or outpatient and should be started after the patient is hemodynamically stable and fluid retention has been minimized. It is recommended that COREG CR be started at 20 mg once daily and increased after 3 to 10 days, based on tolerability to 40 mg once daily, then again to the target dose of 80 mg once daily. A lower startingdose may be used (10 mg once daily) and/or, the rate of up titration may be slowed if clinically indicated (e.g., due to low blood pressure or heart rate, or fluid retention).Patients should be maintained on lower doses if higher doses are not tolerated. The recommended dosing regimen need not be altered in patients who received treatment with an IV or oral β-blocker during the acute phase of the myocardial infarction.
Hypertension
DOSAGE MUST BE INDIVIDUALIZED. The recommended starting dose of COREG CR is 20 mg once daily. If this dose is tolerated, using standing systolic pressure measured about 1 hour after dosing as a guide, the dose should be maintained for 7 to 14 days, and then increased to 40 mg once daily if needed, based on trough blood pressure, again using standing systolic pressure one hour after dosing as a guide for tolerance. This dose should also be maintained for 7 to 14 days and can then be adjusted upward to 80 mg once daily if tolerated and needed. Although not specifically studied, it is anticipated the full antihypertensive effect of COREG CR would be seen within 7 to 14 days as had been demonstrated with conventional carvedilol tablets. Total daily dose should not exceed 80 mg.
Addition of a diuretic to COREG CR, or COREG CR to a diuretic can be expected to produce additive effects and exaggerate the orthostatic component of COREG CR action.
Use in Patients with Hepatic Impairment
COREG CR should not be given to patients with severe hepatic impairment (see CONTRAINDICATIONS).
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