Health authorities have issued an emergency recall notice for a widely used blood pressure medication after discovering a dosing error during manufacturing.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned that some boxes labelled as Ramipril 10mg may actually contain blisters of the lower dose, 5mg.
The alarm was raised after a patient discovered the error in a sealed package. According to authorities, the problem appears to have occurred during the packaging process at the factory where both doses of the drug are produced.
Patients are advised to check their packs for the batch number GR174091, which is marked on the outer carton. They should verify that the dose on the blister matches that stated on the carton.
If 5 mg capsules are found inside a 10 mg package, the medicine must be returned to the pharmacy. However, the correct packages do not need to be returned.
Although it is a mistake, experts emphasize that the risk to patients is very low. Ramipril is used to treat high blood pressure, heart failure and kidney disease, and both doses are commonly used in treatment.
This means that taking a lower dose by mistake is not expected to cause any immediate or serious consequences. According to the MHRA, any effects would be gradual and not life-threatening.
However, patients who feel unwell after taking the medicine should seek medical advice and take the medicine with them.
Pharmacists and healthcare professionals have also been instructed to stop distributing the affected batch and return any remaining stock.
Ramipril belongs to a group of drugs known as ACE inhibitors, which lower blood pressure by relaxing and widening blood vessels. It is among the most prescribed drugs, with tens of millions of prescriptions written each year, and is considered one of the five most commonly used drugs.
This case follows a similar incident earlier this year, when some packages of Ramipril 5 mg were mistakenly filled with another blood pressure medication. Even then, authorities stated that the risk was low, although in some cases dizziness could occur due to excessive blood pressure lowering. /GazetaExpress/
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