Caduet

Caduet is used for:

Treating patients who have high cholesterol and high blood pressure or chest pain. It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Caduet is a calcium channel blocker (amlodipine) and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (atorvastatin) combination. Amlodipine works by widening blood vessels to reduce chest pain and high blood pressure. Atorvastatin works to decrease your risk for heart attack and chest pain by lowering "bad" cholesterol (eg, triglycerides) and raising "good" cholesterol (eg, high-density lipoprotein [HDL]) in the blood.

Do NOT use Caduet if:

• you are allergic to any ingredient in Caduet
• you have active liver disease or persistent high liver enzyme levels of unknown cause
• you are taking itraconazole, mibefradil, or an HIV protease inhibitor (eg, indinavir)
• you are pregnant or breast-feeding

Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.

Before using Caduet :

Some medical conditions may interact with Caduet . Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have any medical conditions, especially if any of the following apply to you:

• if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding
• if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription medicine, herbal preparation, or dietary supplement
• if you have allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances
• if you have a severe infection; blood infection; or severe endocrine, metabolic, or electrolyte disorder; or if you are very ill
• if you have low blood pressure or heart problems, or a history of heart failure, liver problems, diabetes, thyroid problems, kidney problems, muscle problems, stroke, or uncontrolled seizures
• if you have recently had surgery or a serious injury
• if you drink 3 or more alcohol-containing drinks per day

Some MEDICINES MAY INTERACT with Caduet . Tell your health care provider if you are taking any other medicines, especially any of the following:

• Amiodarone, cyclosporine, diltiazem, fibrates (eg, gemfibrozil), fluconazole, HIV protease inhibitors (eg, indinavir), HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (eg, simvastatin), imatinib, itraconazole, ketoconazole, ketolide antibiotics (eg, telithromycin), macrolide antibiotics (eg, erythromycin), mibefradil, nefazodone, niacin, streptogramins (eg, dalfopristin), verapamil, or voriconazole because the risk of side effects, such as severe muscle problems, may be increased
• Sildenafil because the risk of low blood pressure may be increased
• Vasopressin receptor antagonists (eg, conivaptan) because they may increase the risk of amlodipine's side effects
• Digoxin or oral contraceptives (eg, norethindrone/estradiol) because the risk of their side effects may be increased by Caduet
• Bosentan, carbamazepine, efavirenz, rifampin, or St. John's wort because they may decrease Caduet 's effectiveness

This may not be a complete list of all interactions th at may occur. Ask your health care provider if Caduet may interact with other medicines that you take. Check with your health care provider before you start, stop, or change the dose of any medicine.