Patients panic as blood pressure drugs run out

There’s a shortage of common drugs used in the treatment of hypertension in the country, the Nation has established. Patients have for the past two months been using alternative medicine after their preferred and affordable drugs ran out of stock.

Most pharmacies in the country have run out of Carditan AM and Carditan H, manufactured by Cosmos Pharmaceutical Limited.

The national drugs regulator, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, yesterday confirmed to the Nation that the two drugs have been in short supply for months now.

A salesperson at Cosmos confirmed that the drugs have been out of stock since December due to delays in importation of raw materials.

 “The drugs are manufactured locally but the materials are imported,” she said, adding that CarditanH production was ongoing and it would be available by the end of the week, with supply of Carditan AM likely to resume a week later.

A pack of Carditan H contains 28 tablets and it goes for 400, which means a tablet goes for Sh14 and the patients have to take them every day. For Carditan AM, a pack of 28 tablets goes for at most Sh500, which means a tablet goes for Sh18. For other pressure tablets, a tablet goes for at least Sh32. This means that with the same amount of money, a patient can get two or three tablets of the drugs that are out of stock.

Different brand not working

Mr James Oketch, who has been hypertensive for about seven years, prefers Carditan-AM, but he’s been on a different brand for the past couple of months, which doesn’t work for him.

 “I’ve been looking for this drug for the last two months. It’s not available in Nairobi and Kisumu. The drug I am using might not work the same way as the ones I’ve been using for the past seven years,” he said.

Failing to take the blood pressure pills as prescribed by doctors raises chances of a heart attack, a stroke, kidney failure, or other complications.

Carditan-H reduces the risk of stroke and is taken once daily by patients with severe hypertension. High blood pressure means the pressure inside the blood vessels is too high.

Arteries that are narrowed tighten and restrict blood flow. The heart, therefore, has to work harder than it should to keep up with the demands of the body.

This creates a lot of strain on the heart and can eventually cause a stroke or aneurysm.

High blood pressure damages arteries, interferes with the supply of blood to the heart, and forces it to pump more vigorously.

Hypertensive patients are always advised to continue taking their medication because stopping could worsen the underlying condition.

Pressure, as is commonly referred to, is one of the greatest contributing factors to mortality and disease burden worldwide.

Surprisingly, many people have raised BP but they are not aware of their condition.