Cozaar Dosage/Direction for Use

COZAAR may be administered with or without food.
COZAAR may be administered with other antihypertensive agents.
Hypertension: The usual starting and maintenance dose is 50 mg once daily for most patients. The maximal antihypertensive effect is attained 3-6 weeks after initiation of therapy. Some patients may receive an additional benefit by increasing the dose to 100 mg once daily.
For patients with intravascular volume-depletion (e.g., those treated with high-dose diuretics), a starting dose of 25 mg once daily should be considered (see Precautions).
No initial dosage adjustment is necessary for elderly patients or for patients with renal impairment, including patients on dialysis. A lower dose should be considered for patients with a history of hepatic impairment (see Precautions).
There is insufficient safety information with the use of COZAAR in patients with renal impairment who have serum creatinine >3.0-4.0 mg/dL. Therefore, the use of COZAAR in these patients is not recommended. If COZAAR is needed to be used, renal function and serum potassium must be closely monitored.
Reduction in the Risk of Cardiovascular Morbidity and Mortality in Hypertensive Patients with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: The usual starting dose is 50 mg of COZAAR once daily. A low dose of hydrochlorothiazide should be added and/or the dose of COZAAR should be increased to 100 mg once daily based on blood pressure response.
Renal Protection in Type 2 Diabetic Patients with Proteinuria: The usual starting dose is 50 mg once daily. The dose may be increased to 100 mg once daily based on blood pressure response. COZAAR may be administered with other antihypertensive agents (e.g., diuretics, calcium channel blockers, alpha- or beta-blockers, and centrally acting agents) as well as with insulin and other commonly used hypoglycemic agents (e.g., sulfonylureas, glitazones and glucosidase inhibitors).