Lisinopril

Lisinopril tablets are indicated for the treatment of hypertension in adult patients and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older to lower blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure lowers the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions. These benefits have been seen in controlled trials of antihypertensive drugs from a wide variety of pharmacologic classes.

Control of high blood pressure should be part of comprehensive cardiovascular risk management, including, as appropriate, lipid control, diabetes management, antithrombotic therapy, smoking cessation, exercise, and limited sodium intake. Many patients will require more than 1 drug to achieve blood pressure goals. For specific advice on goals and management, see published guidelines, such as those of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program’s Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC).

Numerous antihypertensive drugs, from a variety of pharmacologic classes and with different mechanisms of action, have been shown in randomized controlled trials to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and it can be concluded that it is blood pressure reduction, and not some other pharmacologic property of the drugs, that is largely responsible for those benefits. The largest and most consistent cardiovascular outcome benefit has been a reduction in the risk of stroke, but reductions in myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality also have been seen regularly.

Elevated systolic or diastolic pressure causes increased cardiovascular risk, and the absolute risk increase per mmHg is greater at higher blood pressures, so that even modest reductions of severe hypertension can provide substantial benefit. Relative risk reduction from blood pressure reduction is similar across populations with varying absolute risk, so the absolute benefit is greater in patients who are at higher risk independent of their hypertension (for example, patients with diabetes or hyperlipidemia), and such patients would be expected to benefit from more aggressive treatment to a lower blood pressure goal.

Some antihypertensive drugs have smaller blood pressure effects (as monotherapy) in black patients, and many antihypertensive drugs have additional approved indications and effects (e.g., on angina, heart failure, or diabetic kidney disease). These considerations may guide selection of therapy.

Lisinopril tablets may be administered alone or with other antihypertensive agents [see Clinical Studies (14.1)] .

Lisinopril tablets are indicated to reduce signs and symptoms of systolic heart failure [see Clinical Studies (14.2)] .

Lisinopril tablets are indicated for the reduction of mortality in treatment of hemodynamically stable patients within 24 hours of acute myocardial infarction. Patients should receive, as appropriate, the standard recommended treatments such as thrombolytics, aspirin and beta-blockers [see Clinical Studies (14.3)] .

The recommended starting dose for lisinopril tablets, when used with diuretics and (usually) digitalis as adjunctive therapy for systolic heart failure, is 5 mg once daily. The recommended starting dose in these patients with hyponatremia (serum sodium < 130 mEq/L) is 2.5 mg once daily. Increase as tolerated to a maximum of 40 mg once daily.

Diuretic dose may need to be adjusted to help minimize hypovolemia, which may contribute to hypotension [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) and Drug Interactions (7.1)] . The appearance of hypotension after the initial dose of lisinopril tablets does not preclude subsequent careful dose titration with the drug, following effective management of the hypotension.

In hemodynamically stable patients within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms of acute myocardial infarction, give lisinopril tablets 5 mg orally, followed by 5 mg after 24 hours, 10 mg after 48 hours and then 10 mg once daily. Dosing should continue for at least 6 weeks.

Initiate therapy with 2.5 mg in patients with a low systolic blood pressure (≤ 120 mmHg and > 100 mmHg) during the first 3 days after the infarct [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4)] . If hypotension occurs (systolic blood pressure ≤ 100 mmHg) a daily maintenance dose of 5 mg may be given with temporary reductions to 2.5 mg if needed. If prolonged hypotension occurs (systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg for more than 1 hour) lisinopril tablets should be withdrawn.

No dose adjustment of lisinopril tablets is required in patients with creatinine clearance > 30 mL/min. In patients with creatinine clearance ≥ 10 mL/min and ≤ 30 mL/min, reduce the initial dose of lisinopril tablets to half of the usual recommended dose i.e., hypertension, 5 mg; systolic heart failure, 2.5 mg and acute MI, 2.5 mg. Up titrate as tolerated to a maximum of 40 mg daily. For patients on hemodialysis or creatinine clearance < 10 mL/min, the recommended initial dose is 2.5 mg once daily [see Use in Specific Populations (8.7) and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)] .

Lisinopril tablets can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Use of drugs that act on the renin-angiotensin system during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy reduces fetal renal function and increases fetal and neonatal morbidity and death. Resulting oligohydramnios can be associated with fetal lung hypoplasia and skeletal deformations. Potential neonatal adverse effects include skull hypoplasia, anuria, hypotension, renal failure, and death. When pregnancy is detected, discontinue lisinopril tablets as soon as possible [see Use in Specific Populations (8.1)] .

Patients taking concomitant mTOR inhibitor (e.g. temsirolimus, sirolimus, everolimus) therapy may be at increased risk for angioedema [see Drug Interactions (7.7)] .

Monitor renal function periodically in patients treated with lisinopril tablets. Changes in renal function including acute renal failure can be caused by drugs that inhibit the renin-angiotensin system. Patients whose renal function may depend in part on the activity of the renin-angiotensin system (e.g., patients with renal artery stenosis, chronic kidney disease, severe congestive heart failure, post-myocardial infarction or volume depletion) may be at particular risk of developing acute renal failure on lisinopril tablets. Consider withholding or discontinuing therapy in patients who develop a clinically significant decrease in renal function on lisinopril tablets [see Adverse Reactions (6.1) and Drug Interactions (7.4)] .

Lisinopril tablets can cause symptomatic hypotension, sometimes complicated by oliguria, progressive azotemia, acute renal failure or death. Patients at risk of excessive hypotension include those with the following conditions or characteristics: heart failure with systolic blood pressure below 100 mmHg, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, hyponatremia, high dose diuretic therapy, renal dialysis, or severe volume and/or salt depletion of any etiology.

In these patients, lisinopril tablets should be started under very close medical supervision and such patients should be followed closely for the first 2 weeks of treatment and whenever the dose of lisinopril tablets and/or diuretic is increased. Avoid use of lisinopril tablets in patients who are hemodynamically unstable after acute MI.

Symptomatic hypotension is also possible in patients with severe aortic stenosis or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Serum potassium should be monitored periodically in patients receiving lisinopril tablets. Drugs that inhibit the renin angiotensin system can cause hyperkalemia. Risk factors for the development of hyperkalemia include renal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, and the concomitant use of potassium-sparing diuretics, potassium supplements and/or potassium-containing salt substitutes [see Drug Interactions (7.1)] .

ACE inhibitors have been associated with a syndrome that starts with cholestatic jaundice or hepatitis and progresses to fulminant hepatic necrosis and sometimes death. The mechanism of this syndrome is not understood. Patients receiving ACE inhibitors who develop jaundice or marked elevations of hepatic enzymes should discontinue the ACE inhibitor and receive appropriate medical treatment.

Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical studies of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical studies of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice.

The following adverse reactions have been identified during post-approval use of lisinopril tablets that are not included in other sections of labeling. Because these reactions are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to drug exposure.

Other reactions include:

Metabolism and nutrition disorders: Hyponatremia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4)] , cases of hypoglycemia in diabetic patients on oral antidiabetic agents or insulin [see Drug Interactions (7.2)]

Nervous system and psychiatric disorders: Mood alterations (including depressive symptoms), mental confusion, hallucinations

Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: Psoriasis

Initiation of lisinopril tablets in patients on diuretics may result in excessive reduction of blood pressure. The possibility of hypotensive effects with lisinopril tablets can be minimized by either decreasing or discontinuing the diuretic or increasing the salt intake prior to initiation of treatment with lisinopril tablets. If this is not possible, reduce the starting dose of lisinopril tablets [see Dosage and Administration (2.2) and Warnings and Precautions (5.4)] .

Lisinopril tablets attenuate potassium loss caused by thiazide-type diuretics. Potassium-sparing diuretics (spironolactone, amiloride, triamterene, and others) can increase the risk of hyperkalemia. Therefore, if concomitant use of such agents is indicated, monitor the patient’s serum potassium frequently.

Concomitant administration of lisinopril tablets and antidiabetic medicines (insulins, oral hypoglycemic agents) may cause an increased blood-glucose-lowering effect with risk of hypoglycemia.

In patients who are elderly, volume-depleted (including those on diuretic therapy), or with compromised renal function, co-administration of NSAIDs, including selective COX-2 inhibitors, with ACE inhibitors, including lisinopril, may result in deterioration of renal function, including possible acute renal failure. These effects are usually reversible. Monitor renal function periodically in patients receiving lisinopril and NSAID therapy.

The antihypertensive effect of ACE inhibitors, including lisinopril, may be attenuated by NSAIDs.

Dual blockade of the RAS with angiotensin receptor blockers, ACE inhibitors, or aliskiren is associated with increased risks of hypotension, hyperkalemia, and changes in renal function (including acute renal failure) compared to monotherapy.

The VA NEPHRON trial enrolled 1448 patients with type 2 diabetes, elevated urinary-albumin-to-creatinine ratio, and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR 30 to 89.9 mL/min), randomized them to lisinopril or placebo on a background of losartan therapy and followed them for a median of 2.2 years. Patients receiving the combination of losartan and lisinopril did not obtain any additional benefit compared to monotherapy for the combined endpoint of decline in GFR, end state renal disease, or death, but experienced an increased incidence of hyperkalemia and acute kidney injury compared with the monotherapy group.

In general, avoid combined use of RAS inhibitors. Closely monitor blood pressure, renal function and electrolytes in patients on lisinopril tablets and other agents that affect the RAS.

Do not co-administer aliskiren with lisinopril tablets in patients with diabetes. Avoid use of aliskiren with lisinopril tablets in patients with renal impairment (GFR < 60 mL/min).

Lithium toxicity has been reported in patients receiving lithium concomitantly with drugs, which cause elimination of sodium, including ACE inhibitors. Lithium toxicity was usually reversible upon discontinuation of lithium and the ACE inhibitor. Monitor serum lithium levels during concurrent use.

Nitritoid reactions (symptoms include facial flushing, nausea, vomiting and hypotension) have been reported rarely in patients on therapy with injectable gold (sodium aurothiomalate) and concomitant ACE inhibitor therapy including lisinopril tablets.

Patients taking concomitant mTOR inhibitor (e.g., temsirolimus, sirolimus, everolimus) therapy may be at increased risk for angioedema [see  Warnings and Precautions (5.2)] .

Antihypertensive effects and safety of lisinopril tablets have been established in pediatric patients aged 6 to 16 years [see Dosage and Administration (2.1) and Clinical Studies (14.1)] . No relevant differences between the adverse reaction profile for pediatric patients and adult patients were identified.

Safety and effectiveness of lisinopril tablets have not been established in pediatric patients under the age 6 or in pediatric patients with glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m ² [see Dosage and Administration (2.1), Clinical Pharmacology (12.3), and Clinical Studies (14.1)] .

No dosage adjustment with lisinopril tablets is necessary in elderly patients. In a clinical study of lisinopril tablets in patients with myocardial infarctions (GISSI-3 Trial) 4,413 (47%) were 65 and over, while 1,656 (18%) were 75 and over. In this study, 4.8% of patients aged 75 years and older discontinued lisinopril tablets treatment because of renal dysfunction vs. 1.3% of patients younger than 75 years. No other differences in safety or effectiveness were observed between elderly and younger patients, but greater sensitivity of some older individuals cannot be ruled out.

ACE inhibitors, including lisinopril, have an effect on blood pressure that is less in black patients than in non blacks.

Dose adjustment of lisinopril tablets is required in patients undergoing hemodialysis or whose creatinine clearance is ≤ 30 mL/min. No dose adjustment of lisinopril tablets is required in patients with creatinine clearance > 30 mL/min [see Dosage and Administration (2.4) and Clinical Pharmacology (12.3)] .

Lisinopril inhibits angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in human subjects and animals. ACE is a peptidyl dipeptidase that catalyzes the conversion of angiotensin I to the vasoconstrictor substance, angiotensin II. Angiotensin II also stimulates aldosterone secretion by the adrenal cortex. The beneficial effects of lisinopril in hypertension and heart failure appear to result primarily from suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Inhibition of ACE results in decreased plasma angiotensin II which leads to decreased vasopressor activity and to decreased aldosterone secretion. The latter decrease may result in a small increase of serum potassium. In hypertensive patients with normal renal function treated with lisinopril tablets alone for up to 24 weeks, the mean increase in serum potassium was approximately 0.1 mEq/L; however, approximately 15% of patients had increases greater than 0.5 mEq/L and approximately 6% had a decrease greater than 0.5 mEq/L. In the same study, patients treated with lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide for up to 24 weeks had a mean decrease in serum potassium of 0.1 mEq/L; approximately 4% of patients had increases greater than 0.5 mEq/L and approximately 12% had a decrease greater than 0.5 mEq/L [see Clinical Studies (14.1)] . Removal of angiotensin II negative feedback on renin secretion leads to increased plasma renin activity.

ACE is identical to kininase, an enzyme that degrades bradykinin. Whether increased levels of bradykinin, a potent vasodepressor peptide, play a role in the therapeutic effects of lisinopril tablets remains to be elucidated.

While the mechanism through which lisinopril lowers blood pressure is believed to be primarily suppression of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, lisinopril is antihypertensive even in patients with low-renin hypertension. Although lisinopril was antihypertensive in all races studied, Black hypertensive patients (usually a low-renin hypertensive population) had a smaller average response to monotherapy than non Black patients.

Concomitant administration of lisinopril and hydrochlorothiazide further reduced blood pressure in Black and non-Black patients and any racial differences in blood pressure response were no longer evident.

There was no evidence of a tumorigenic effect when lisinopril was administered for 105 weeks to male and female rats at doses up to 90 mg per kg per day (about 56 or 9 times* the maximum recommended daily human dose, based on body weight and body surface area, respectively). There was no evidence of carcinogenicity when lisinopril was administered for 92 weeks to (male and female) mice at doses up to 135 mg per kg per day (about 84 times* the maximum recommended daily human dose). This dose was 6.8 times the maximum human dose based on body surface area in mice.

Lisinopril was not mutagenic in the Ames microbial mutagen test with or without metabolic activation. It was also negative in a forward mutation assay using Chinese hamster lung cells. Lisinopril did not produce single strand DNA breaks in an in vitro alkaline elution rat hepatocyte assay. In addition, lisinopril did not produce increases in chromosomal aberrations in an in vitro test in Chinese hamster ovary cells or in an in vivo study in mouse bone marrow.

There were no adverse effects on reproductive performance in male and female rats treated with up to 300 mg per kg per day of lisinopril. This dose is 188 times and 30 times the maximum human dose when based on mg/kg and mg/m ², respectively.

Studies in rats indicate that lisinopril crosses the blood brain barrier poorly. Multiple doses of lisinopril in rats do not result in accumulation in any tissues. Milk of lactating rats contains radioactivity following administration of ¹⁴C lisinopril. By whole body autoradiography, radioactivity was found in the placenta following administration of labeled drug to pregnant rats, but none was found in the fetuses.

*Calculations assume a human weight of 50 kg and human body surface area of 1.62 m ².

Two dose-response studies utilizing a once-daily regimen were conducted in 438 mild to moderate hypertensive patients not on a diuretic. Blood pressure was measured 24 hours after dosing. An antihypertensive effect of lisinopril tablets was seen with 5 mg of lisinopril in some patients. However, in both studies blood pressure reduction occurred sooner and was greater in patients treated with 10 mg, 20 mg or 80 mg of lisinopril than patients treated with 5 mg of lisinopril.

In controlled clinical studies of patients with mild to moderate hypertension, patients were treated with lisinopril 20 mg to 80 mg daily, hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg to 50 mg daily or atenolol 50 mg to 200 mg daily; and in other studies of patients with moderate to severe hypertension, patients were treated with lisinopril 20 mg to 80 mg daily or metoprolol 100 mg to 200 mg daily. Lisinopril demonstrated superior reductions of systolic and diastolic compared to hydrochlorothiazide in a population that was 75% Caucasian. Lisinopril was approximately equivalent to atenolol and metoprolol in reducing diastolic blood pressure, and had somewhat greater effects on systolic blood pressure.

Lisinopril tablets had similar blood pressure reductions and adverse effects in younger and older (> 65 years) patients. It was less effective in reducing blood pressure in Blacks than in Caucasians.

In hemodynamic studies of lisinopril tablets in patients with essential hypertension, blood pressure reduction was accompanied by a reduction in peripheral arterial resistance with little or no change in cardiac output and in heart rate. In a study in nine hypertensive patients, following administration of lisinopril tablets, there was an increase in mean renal blood flow that was not significant. Data from several small studies are inconsistent with respect to the effect of lisinopril on glomerular filtration rate in hypertensive patients with normal renal function, but suggest that changes, if any, are not large.

In patients with renovascular hypertension, lisinopril tablets have been shown to be well tolerated and effective in reducing blood pressure [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3)] .

In two placebo controlled, 12-week clinical studies compared the addition of lisinopril tablets up to 20 mg daily to digitalis and diuretics alone. The combination of lisinopril tablets, digitalis and diuretics reduced the following signs and symptoms of heart failure: edema, rales, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea and jugular venous distention. In one of the studies, the combination of lisinopril tablets, digitalis and diuretics reduced orthopnea, presence of third heart sound and the number of patients classified as NYHA Class III and IV; and improved exercise tolerance. A large (over 3000 patients) survival study, the ATLAS Trial, comparing 2.5 mg and 35 mg of lisinopril in patients with systolic heart failure, showed that the higher dose of lisinopril had outcomes at least as favorable as the lower dose.

During baseline-controlled clinical trials, in patients with systolic heart failure receiving digitalis and diuretics, single doses of lisinopril tablets resulted in decreases in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, systemic vascular resistance and blood pressure accompanied by an increase in cardiac output and no change in heart rate.

The Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvienza nell’Infarto Miocardico (GISSI-3) study was a multicenter, controlled, randomized, unblinded clinical trial conducted in 19,394 patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) admitted to a coronary care unit. It was designed to examine the effects of short-term (6 week) treatment with lisinopril, nitrates, their combination, or no therapy on short-term (6 week) mortality and on long-term death and markedly impaired cardiac function. Hemodynamically-stable patients presenting within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms were randomized, in a 2 x 2 factorial design, to 6 weeks of either 1) lisinopril tablets alone (n = 4841), 2) nitrates alone (n = 4869), 3) lisinopril tablets plus nitrates (n = 4841), or 4) open control (n = 4843). All patients received routine therapies, including thrombolytics (72%), aspirin (84%), and a beta blocker (31%), as appropriate, normally utilized in acute myocardial infarction (MI) patients.

The protocol excluded patients with hypotension (systolic blood pressure ≤ 100 mmHg), severe heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and renal dysfunction (serum creatinine > 2 mg per dL and/or proteinuria > 500 mg per 24 h). Patients randomized to lisinopril tablets received 5 mg within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms, 5 mg after 24 hours, and then 10 mg daily thereafter. Patients with systolic blood pressure less than 120 mmHg at baseline received 2.5 mg of lisinopril tablets. If hypotension occurred, the lisinopril tablets dose was reduced or if severe hypotension occurred lisinopril tablets were stopped [see Dosage and Administration (2.3)] .

The primary outcomes of the trial were the overall mortality at 6 weeks and a combined end point at 6 months after the myocardial infarction, consisting of the number of patients who died, had late (day 4) clinical congestive heart failure, or had extensive left ventricular damage defined as ejection fraction ≤ 35% or an akinetic-dyskinetic [A-D] score ≥ 45%. Patients receiving lisinopril tablets (n = 9646), alone or with nitrates, had an 11% lower risk of death (p = 0.04) compared to patients who did not receive lisinopril tablets (n = 9672) (6.4% vs. 7.2%, respectively) at 6 weeks. Although patients randomized to receive lisinopril tablets for up to 6 weeks also fared numerically better on the combined end point at 6 months, the open nature of the assessment of heart failure, substantial loss to follow-up echocardiography, and substantial excess use of lisinopril tablets between 6 weeks and 6 months in the group randomized to 6 weeks of lisinopril, preclude any conclusion about this end point.

Patients with acute myocardial infarction, treated with lisinopril tablets, had a higher (9.0% versus 3.7%) incidence of persistent hypotension (systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg for more than 1 hour) and renal dysfunction (2.4% versus 1.1%) in-hospital and at 6 weeks (increasing creatinine concentration to over 3 mg per dL or a doubling or more of the baseline serum creatinine concentration) [see Adverse Reactions (6.1)] .