** PLEASE NOTE: THIS PRODUCT IS RESTRICTED AND AVAILABLE BY PRESCRIPTION ONLY **
Product Type
For heart failure in dogs and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and chronic renal insufficiency in cats.
Properties
After oral administration, benazepril is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and hydrolysed to benazeprilat, a highly specific and potent inhibitor of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). FORTEKOR produces significant inhibition of plasma ACE activity for more than 24 hours after a single dose in cats and dogs.
Inhibition of ACE leads to reduced conversion of inactive angiotensin I into active angiotensin II, and therefore a reduction in the effects mediated by angiotensin II, including vasoconstriction of both arteries and veins, retention of sodium and water by the kidney and modelling changes (including pathological cardiac hypertrophy and degenerative renal changes).
In dogs with heart failure, FORTEKOR reduces the blood pressure and volume load on the heart. FORTEKOR produces an extension of the life span and also improves clinical signs, a notable reduction in coughing, and improvement in quality of life.
In cats with chronic renal insufficiency FORTEKOR reduces protein loss in urine and reduces systemic and intraglomerular blood pressure. FORTEKOR increases the appetite, quality of life and survival time of the cats, particularly in advanced disease.
In contrast with other ACE inhibitors, benazeprilat is excreted 54% via the biliary and 46% via the urinary route in dogs, and 85% via the biliary and 15% via the urinary route in cats. The clearance of benazeprilat is not affected in dogs or cats with impaired renal function and therefore no adjustment of FORTEKOR dose is required in either species in cases of renal insufficiency.
Indications
In dogs, FORTEKOR is used to treat heart failure. In cats, FORTEKOR is used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and chronic renal insufficiency.
Dosage and Administration
FORTEKOR is a prescription medicine available only from veterinarians.
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Animal
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Dose rate
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Dog
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0.25mg/kg once daily
(may be increased to 0.5mgkg once daily if judged clinically necessary and advised by veterinarian)
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Cat
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0.5mg/kg once daily
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Formulations and Packaging
FORTEKOR comes in packs of 28 tablets, and is available in three formulations: 2.5mg yeast-flavoured tablets, and 5mg and 20mg beef-flavoured tablets.
Safety
FORTEKOR has an excellent and long standing safety profile when used according to the label.
In normal dogs, no adverse effects were seen with up to 200 times the recommended dose in a single treatment. In cats, no adverse effects were seen with 10 times the recommended daily dose for 12 months.
Steady therapeutic plasma levels are attained within 4 days, creating a smooth onset of activity. A small number of dogs may show transient signs of fatigue. Clinical trials demonstrated good renal tolerance to FORTEKOR in dogs.
The safety of FORTEKOR has not been tested in breeding cats or dogs. FORTEKOR is therefore not recommended for use in pregnant or lactating bitches or queens. The efficacy and safety of FORTEKOR has not been established in cats weighing less than 2.5kg.
There are no known interactions between FORTEKOR and other medicines in cats. In cats and dogs monitoring of plasma potassium levels is recommended if FORTEKOR is used in combination with diuretics that may have additive potassium sparing effects (e.g. spironolactone, triamterene or amiloride). The additional use of hypotensive products (e.g. calcium channel blockers, beta-blockers or diuretics) or anaesthetics with a hypotensive effect, may add to the anti-hypertensive effect of ACE inhibitors.
Concurrent use of ACE inhibitors and NSAIDs should be considered with caution as reduced efficacy of the ACE inhibitors or impaired reanl function have been reported with their concurrent use in humans.