Entresto Heart Medication: Everything You Need to Know
speciality medications
Heart health is an issue affecting millions of American adults. Being diagnosed with heart failure can be devastating, but now, through the miracle of modern medicine, heart failure patients now have options to help extend and improve their lives.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that finding (and affording!) the right medication for your heart health is simple. Medications like Entresto offer powerful dual-action benefits for your heart, but buying Entresto in brick-and-mortar American pharmacies can be incredibly expensive.
That’s where online Canadian pharmacies and international ones can help. Here, in addition to reliably low prices on brand-name Entresto, we’re happy to provide accessible information about popular heart health medications.
What is Entresto Used For?
If your doctor has mentioned Entresto, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the information you suddenly need to know like the back of your hand. There are risks to be aware of, dosage strategies to pore over, and side effects you’ll need to understand (and be able to mitigate).
Breathe. Don’t worry. You’re in the right place: Here, we’ll provide a helpful guide containing everything you need to know about Entresto heart medication.
What is Entresto?
Entresto (or Entresto generic, which is sacubitril and valsartan) combines two popular active ingredients with known heart benefits into one powerful medication that’s, for many, better than the sum of its parts. Its basic goal is simple: To relieve some of the burden on your heart, which can make the physiological symptoms associated with heart failure a lot easier to bear.
Let’s take a quick look at what each of those active ingredients does:
- Sacubitril makes it simpler for your body to manage the way it moves and retains fluids and sodium. When fluid management is done right, your heart’s job is a lot easier.
- Valsartan blocks the effects of a substance called angiotensin II. This blocking action reduces constriction of the blood vessels, sodium retention, high blood pressure, and harmful remodeling of cardiac structure.
Together, in Entresto’s mechanism of action, these active ingredients are approved for treating heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. This is a form of heart failure when the heart muscle doesn’t contract effectively. Without effective contraction, the body doesn’t get adequate blood circulation.
With Entresto, however, this form of heart failure can be much easier to live with.
What Are the Clinical Benefits of Entresto?
One of the reasons Entresto is so popular is because its benefits have been substantiated both anecdotally and through extensive research. When compared to similar heart failure medications like enalapril, Entresto consistently produces sought-after clinical benefits.
For example, medical studies have shown that Entresto reduces the risk of death associated with adverse cardiovascular conditions (like heart disease), as well as the risk of hospitalization for heart failure. It’s also relatively easy to take: For a drug that has powerful health benefits, its dosing regimen is simple and (for many) side-effect-free.
There are risks, which we’ll touch on later, but patients who take Entresto as their doctor recommends tend to have a good (and safer!) experience with their heart disease.
You can buy 28 tablets of brand-name Entresto through NorthWestPharmacy.com for about $140.00, or approximately $5.00 per pill and there is a generic available for even less.
Typical Entresto Dosage Recommendations
When your doctor starts you on an Entresto dose, they’ll ask you a lot of questions to help you determine the most strategic dose you can take to maximize your therapeutic benefits and minimize any harmful or frustrating side effects.
Typically, an initial starting dose for adults is 49 mg sacubitril/51mg valsartan, which adults take twice daily. Your doctor will monitor you closely as your body gets used to this initial dose. This monitoring period may last two to four weeks, or longer.
If you have a good experience with that lower dose of Entresto, your doctor may consider moving you up to a stronger maintenance dose of 97 mg sacubitril/103 mg valsartan, which you’ll take twice daily for a longer period of time; possibly indefinitely, as long as your body needs help relieving cardiac stress.
Your doctor will still want to review your blood panels and adjust your dosage as necessary over the long term. This is necessary for your optimal health, as your body might need more or less support as the years go by.
Administration Tips for Taking Entresto Effectively
One pill twice a day seems easy enough—and it is.
If you’re worried about experiencing the side effects of Entresto, though, there are some things you can do to make it more likely that your time with Entresto will be as smooth and painless as possible. Some of these actions may even help Entresto be more effective for you.
The most important habit to get into is taking Entresto at the same time every day. This helps keep the levels of Entresto in your bloodstream as stable and level as possible. If your blood concentration of Entresto is constantly changing, it will be more difficult for the drug to work efficiently. (It also increases the likelihood that you’ll experience Entresto’s side effects.) Many people take Entresto at night so they can sleep through any possible side effects, but morning or midday work, too. Just be as consistent as you can.
Fortunately, Entresto can be taken with or without food, so it doesn’t necessarily have to be tied to a meal. That said, listen to your body. If you realize that taking Entresto on an empty stomach doesn’t feel great, that’s good information. Take it with food if it works better for you!
The Potential Entresto Side Effects to Know About
While Entresto can provide significant clinical benefits to people managing a heart condition, like any medication, Entresto can also trigger unpleasant side effects.
Most of these effects are manageable—but you do need to know what to watch for.
Common and Severe Entresto Side Effects
Common side effects of Entresto include:
- Dizziness, especially when you’re standing up quickly
- A dry, persistent cough
- High levels of potassium, or a condition called “hyperkalemia”
If you realize that you’re experiencing any of these side effects, talk to your doctor about ways to mitigate them.
Less common, but still possible, side effects of Entresto that are a little more severe may include:
- Angioedema, or a reaction to the medication that involves rapid swelling of deep skin layers, which can lead to breathing problems
- Renal impairment, or an issue with your kidney function, which can also be quite threatening to your health
In either of these situations—if you feel sudden pain in your torso or in your chest, or if you have trouble breathing—don’t hesitate; seek out medical assistance at once. Once you’re safe, talk to your doctor about your options.
You may be able to implement strategies to mitigate your risk of common or severe side effects, or, if necessary, consider another type of medication.
Managing Entresto’s Side Effects
Managing any side effects you experience while on Entresto will require thoughtful monitoring and awareness of what could happen. You also need to be aware that calling for immediate medical attention is a strategy you may need to employ if rare (but possible!) side effects kick in.
Here’s what we’d recommend:
- Work with your doctor to check your blood pressure regularly. You’ll need to make sure that it doesn’t become too low while you’re on the medication. While high blood pressure isn’t helpful, low blood pressure isn’t either—it can lead to symptoms from fainting to dizziness.
- Go to your doctor’s office for regular kidney function tests (as often as your doctor recommends). Since Entresto can impact kidney performance, especially if you already have a kidney issue, monitoring any dips in performance can give you a head’s up in case you need to switch medication strategy.
While all of this monitoring can seem like a lot, it’s an incredible way to stay in tune with your body and keep tabs on your overall health. Consistent checkups can do more than just help you use Entresto safely; it’ll help you feel better, sleep better, and accomplish more health goals … even those that aren’t related to your heart health.
In the event that you experience one of the rare but serious dangers of Entresto, consider the following:
- If your lips, tongue, face, or throat are swelling, go to urgent care or seek emergency medical help at once.
- If you notice that you’re not producing as much urine, that you have swelling in your feet or ankles, or that you’re consistently much more tired than usual without any clear explanation why, that may also be a sign to go to your doctor. These symptoms may be signs of renal or kidney impairment.
Special Considerations and Warnings for Taking Entresto
Although Entresto can provide significant benefits for many people, it’s not for everyone. Take a look at the following recommendations for Entresto use to help determine whether Entresto is a good option for you.
Precautions for Specific Populations
There are certain groups of people who should approach use of Entresto with caution.
- Elderly patients may require lower doses or additional monitoring. Entresto side effects in elderly patients can be particularly severe.
- Patients who have existing, severe kidney or liver conditions should take care, too, since these conditions could change the way that their bodies metabolize and excrete Entresto.
- Finally, pregnant women (or those who could become pregnant) need to consider Entresto very carefully. Entresto has been linked to fetal toxicity, so, as a general rule, it’s recommended that pregnant women only use it if it’s absolutely essential.
Interaction With Other Medications
In some cases, just how effective Entresto can be for you depends on what other drugs you may be taking.
Some medications that may interfere with how Entresto works or even combine with other drugs to lead to unwanted consequences include:
- NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can reduce Entresto’s efficacy and reduce kidney function, too.
- Potassium-sparing diuretics, which, when used alongside Entresto, can increase the risk of hyperkalemia (or having too much potassium).
- ACE inhibitors, which are generally considered dangerous for use when taken in concert with Entresto and should be ramped down and removed from your treatment plan before initiating Entresto dosage.
FAQs and Patient Tips for Using Entresto Well
Wondering what starting this medication will feel like—or if there are any lifestyle modifications you can make to have a better experience with Entresto?
Here are some common questions we hear about this heart disease medication.
- Does Entresto lower blood pressure?
- Yes, Entresto can lower blood pressure. One of its active ingredients, Valsartan, blocks a substance that can constrict blood vessels. With blood vessel constriction eased, most patients will find their blood pressure reduced.
- How long does Entresto take to work?
- The amount of time it takes for individuals to see improvements in their symptoms can vary significantly. While some patients may notice relief from heart disease symptoms within the first few weeks, the full benefits of Entresto (especially with regard to reduced hospitalizations and similarly severe symptoms) may take months to kick in.
- What should I expect in the first two weeks of taking Entresto?
- As your body gets used to the new medication, you may experience side effects ranging from coughing to dizziness and blood pressure. The main thing to focus on is consistency: While you might not see benefits yet, you’re building a foundation that will lead to long-term improved outcomes with Entresto.
Which, speaking of: Aside from consistency and taking the medication at the same time every day, are there any other practical things that patients can do to enhance their treatment experience with Entresto?
There are. Consider:
- Eating a heart healthy diet that’s low in sodium (or processed, added salt) if you can.
- Engage in regular physical activity. It doesn’t need to be extensive; walking and stretching count, as long as you do it consistently!
- If you smoke, consider stopping. Leaning on nicotine cessation aids can help.
Further, if you need ways to make taking Entresto at the same time every single day a non-negotiable part of your daily routine, think about getting tools like medication reminders or pill organizers to stay on track.
At NorthWestPharmacy.com, Entresto is just one of many heart health medications we offer at reliably low prices. Our team of customer service representatives is here to help with anything you need – from learning more about how we support Americans buying medication from Canada to placing an order online or over the phone.
The team at NorthWestPharmacy.com looks forward to helping you support your healthcare journey!
