Tareg Dosage/Direction for Use

Dosage: Adult population: Hypertension: The recommended dose of valsartan is 80 mg or 160 mg once daily, irrespective of race, age or gender. The antihypertensive effect is substantially present within 2 weeks, and maximal effects are seen after 4 weeks. In some patients whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled, the daily dose may be increased to 320 mg or a diuretic may be added.
Valsartan may also be administered with other antihypertensive agents.
Heart failure: The recommended starting dose of valsartan is 40 mg twice daily. Up-titration to 80 mg and 160 mg twice daily should be done to the highest dose tolerated by the patient. Consideration should be given to reducing the dose of concomitant diuretics. The maximum daily dose administered in clinical trials is 320 mg in divided doses.
Evaluation of patients with heart failure should always include assessment of renal function.
Post-myocardial infarction: Therapy may be initiated as early as 12 hours after a myocardial infarction. After an initial dose of 20 mg twice daily, valsartan therapy should be titrated to 40 mg, 80 mg, and 160 mg twice daily over the next few weeks. The starting dose is provided by the 40 mg divisible tablet.
The target maximum dose is 160 mg twice daily. In general, it is recommended that patients achieve a dose level of 80 mg twice daily by two weeks after treatment initiation and that the target maximum dose be achieved by three months, based on the patient's tolerability to valsartan during titration. If symptomatic hypotension or renal dysfunction occurs, consideration should be given to a dosage reduction.
Valsartan may be used in patients treated with other post-myocardial infarction therapies, e.g. thrombolytics, acetylsalicylic acid, beta-blockers or statins.
Evaluation of post-myocardial infarction patients should always include assessment of renal function.
Hypertensive adult patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance at cardiovascular risk: The recommended starting dose of valsartan is 80 or 160 mg once daily. For those patients starting on 80 mg, up-titration to 160 mg once daily should be done, as tolerated by the patient. If hypertension remains uncontrolled, refer to Hypertension as previously mentioned.
Note for all indications: No dosage adjustment is required for patients with renal impairment or for patients with hepatic insufficiency of non-biliary origin and without cholestasis.
Special populations: Pediatric population (Pediatric hypertension): Children and adolescents 6-18 years of age: The initial dose is 40 mg once daily for children and adolescents below 35 kg of weight and 80 mg once daily for those weighing 35 kg or more. The dose should be adjusted based on blood pressure response. For maximum doses studied in clinical trials, refer to the table as follows.
Doses higher than those listed have not been studied and are therefore not recommended. (See Table 1.)

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Switching between Valsartan [solid form] and Valsartan oral solution: It is not recommended to switch between valsartan [solid form] and valsartan oral solution unless clinically required.
If switching from valsartan [solid form] to valsartan oral solution is considered essential on clinical grounds, the valsartan dose should be adjusted as described in the table as follows and blood pressure should be carefully monitored. The dose should be titrated based on blood pressure response and tolerability. (See Table 2.)

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If switching from valsartan oral solution to valsartan [solid form] is considered clinically essential, initially the same dose in milligrams should be given. Subsequently, frequent blood pressure monitoring should be performed taking into account potential under-dosing and the dose should be titrated further based on blood pressure response and tolerability.
Children less than 6 years of age: Available data are described in Adverse Reactions and Pharmacology: Pharmacodynamics: Pharmacokinetics under Actions. However, safety and efficacy of valsartan in children less than 6 years of age have not been established.
Paediatric heart failure and recent myocardial infarction: Valsartan is not recommended for the treatment of heart failure or recent myocardial infarction in children and adolescents below the age of 18 years due to the lack of data on safety and efficacy.
Method of administration: Valsartan (Tareg) may be taken independently of a meal and should be administered with water.