Important: Valsartan medication recall

Several common drugs that contain valsartan, used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure, have been recalled due to an impurity — N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) — in the drug that poses a potential cancer risk.  The presence of NDMA is thought to be related to changes in the way the active substance was manufactured, according to the FDA.

Keep yourself safe and take these steps:

• To determine whether the specific medicine you are taking has been recalled, look at the drug name and company name on the label of the prescription bottle. If the information is not on the bottle, please call your physician or contact the pharmacy that dispensed the medicine. The recalled medications are as follows:

• If your medicine is included in this recall, do not stop taking the medication until your physician has prescribed a replacement product for you. Because these medicines are used to treat serious medical conditions — heart failure and high blood pressure — you can put yourself at risk of harm if you suddenly stop taking it. Please call your physician to discuss alternate treatment options.

Read here for more information:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/19/health/valsartan-recall-explainer/index.html

https://health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2018-07-19/affected-by-the-valsartan-heart-drug-recall-heres-what-to-do

https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm613532.htm