2.1 Congestive Heart Failure Post-Myocardial Infarction
Treatment should be initiated at 25 mg once daily and titrated to the recommended dose of 50 mg once daily, preferably within 4 weeks as tolerated by the patient. Eplerenone may be administered with or without food.
Once treatment with eplerenone has begun, adjust the dose based on the serum potassium level as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Dose Adjustment in Congestive Heart Failure Post-MI
Serum
Potassium
(mEq/L)
Action
Dose Adjustment
<5.0
Increase
25 mg every other day to 25 mg once daily
25 mg once daily to 50 mg once daily
5.0–5.4
Maintain
No adjustment
5.5–5.9
Decrease
50 mg once daily to 25 mg once daily
25 mg once daily to 25 mg every other day
25 mg every other day to withhold
≥ 6.0
Withhold
Restart at 25 mg every other day when potassium levels fall to <5.5 mEq/L
2.2 Hypertension
The recommended starting dose of eplerenone is 50 mg administered once daily. The full therapeutic effect of eplerenone is apparent within 4 weeks. For patients with an inadequate blood pressure response to 50 mg once daily the dosage of eplerenone should be increased to 50 mg twice daily. Higher dosages of eplerenone are not recommended because they have no greater effect on blood pressure than 100 mg and are associated with an increased risk of hyperkalemia. [See CLINICAL STUDIES, 14.2 Hypertension .]
2.3 Recommended Monitoring
Serum potassium should be measured before initiating eplerenone therapy, within the first week and at one month after the start of treatment or dose adjustment. Serum potassium should be assessed periodically thereafter. Patient characteristics and serum potassium levels may indicate that additional monitoring is appropriate. [See WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS, 5.1 Hyperkalemia , ADVERSE REACTIONS, 6.2 Clinical Laboratory Test Findings .] In the EPHESUS study [See CLINICAL STUDIES, 14.1 Congestive Heart Failure Post-Myocardial Infarction ], the majority of hyperkalemia was observed within the first three months after randomization.
In all patients taking eplerenone who start taking a moderate CYP3A4 inhibitor, check serum potassium and serum creatinine in 3 to 7 days.
2.4 Dose Modifications for Specific Populations
For hypertensive patients receiving moderate CYP3A4 inhibitors (e.g., erythromycin, saquinavir, verapamil and fluconazole), the starting dose of eplerenone should be reduced to 25 mg once daily. [See DRUG INTERACTIONS, 7.1 CYP3A4 Inhibitors.]
No adjustment of the starting dose is recommended for the elderly or for patients with mild-to-moderate hepatic impairment. [See CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY, 12.3 Pharmacokinetics.]