Candesartan

Excerpt

Candesartan is an oral angiotensin II receptor blocker. The FDA approved candesartan for the management of hypertension in adults. It is available as a pro-drug, candesartan cilexetil, which undergoes hydrolysis in the gastrointestinal tract during absorption to its active form. Candesartan is also used off-label to treat conditions including cerebrovascular accident or stroke, diabetic nephropathy, left ventricular hypertrophy, and migraines. This activity reviews the mechanism of action, adverse event profile, toxicity, dosing, pharmacodynamics, and monitoring of candesartan, pertinent for clinicians and other interprofessional team members so that this drug can be utilized when indicated.