Rioteph 0.5 Mg Tablet

Description

About Rioteph 0.5 mg Tablets

Rioteph 0.5 mg Tablets contain 0.5 mg of riociguat per tablet, supplied as a pack of 10 tablets. Riociguat belongs to a class of its own: it is a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, and it is used for raised blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. 0.5 mg is the lowest strength, used while treatment is being established; the specialist decides which strength applies.

How it works

Soluble guanylate cyclase is the enzyme that blood vessels use to relax, and it normally needs nitric oxide to switch it on. Riociguat works on it in two ways at once: it makes the enzyme more sensitive to the body’s own nitric oxide, and it can also stimulate the enzyme directly without it. The result is more cyclic GMP inside the vessel wall, which widens the pulmonary arteries and lowers the pressure the right side of the heart has to pump against.

What it is used for

Riociguat is used in pulmonary arterial hypertension, and in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension — the form caused by old blood clots in the lungs — where surgery is not possible or where the pressure persists after surgery. In both it is used to improve exercise capacity.

This is a different condition from ordinary high blood pressure. Riociguat is not a treatment for systemic hypertension, and it is not interchangeable with the medicines used for that.

Important: medicines it must not be combined with

Riociguat must not be taken together with PDE5 inhibitors such as sildenafil, tadalafil or vardenafil, nor with nitrates or other nitric oxide donors, including recreational nitrites. Both act on the same pathway, and the combination can cause a dangerous fall in blood pressure. It must also not be combined with non-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as dipyridamole or theophylline. Tell your doctor and pharmacist every medicine you take, prescribed or not.

Safety and monitoring

Riociguat must not be used in pregnancy, because it can harm a developing baby. Pregnancy is excluded before treatment and reliable contraception is required throughout, with regular testing. It is also not suitable where the raised pressure is caused by pulmonary veno-occlusive disease, as it can cause fluid to build up in the lungs. Low blood pressure, dizziness, headache and bleeding — including nosebleeds and coughing up blood — are recognised effects; report them to your doctor. Stand up slowly if you feel light-headed.

Prescription and storage

A prescription from your healthcare provider is required to purchase riociguat. Store the tablets at room temperature, away from moisture and direct sunlight, and out of the reach of children.