Aveten Dosage/Direction for Use

Mode of Administration: Oral administration.
Adults: Hypertension: One tablet daily. Most patients respond to 100mg daily given orally as a single dose. Some patients, however, will respond to 50mg given as a single daily dose. The effect will be fully established after one to two weeks. A further reduction in blood pressure may be achieved by combining AVETEN with other antihypertensive agents, for example co- administration with a diuretic.
Angina: Most patients with angina pectoris will respond to 100mg given orally once daily or 50mg given twice daily. It is unlikely that additional benefit will be gained by increasing the dose.
Arrhythmia: Having controlled the arrhythmias with intravenous injection, a suitable oral maintenance dosage is 50- 100mg daily, given as a single dose.
Myocardial Infarction: For patients suitable for treatment with intravenous beta-adrenoceptor blockade and presenting within 12 hours of the onset of chest pain, atenolol 5-10mg should be given by slow intravenous injection (1mg/ minute) followed by AVETEN 50mg orally about 15 minutes later, provided no untoward effects occur from the intravenous dose. This should be followed by a further 50mg orally 12 hours after the intravenous dose and then 12 hours later by 100mg orally to be given once daily. If bradycardia and/or hypotension requiring treatment, or any other untoward effects occur, AVETEN should be discontinued.
Elderly Patients: Dosage requirements may be reduced especially in patients with impaired renal function.
Children: There is no paediatric experience with AVETEN and for this reason it is not recommended for use in children.
Renal Failure: Since AVETEN is excreted via the kidneys, the dosage should be adjusted in cases of severe impairment of renal function.
No significant accumulation of AVETEN occurs in patients who have a creatinine clearance greater than 35ml/min/1.73m² ( normal range is 100-150ml/min/1.73m²).
For patients with a creatinine clearance of 15-35ml/min/1.73m² (equivalent to serum creatinine of 300-600 micromol/litre) the oral dose should be 50mg daily and the intravenous dose should be 10mg once every two days.
For patients with a creatinine clearance of < 15 ml/min/l.73m² (equivalent to serum creatinine of >600 micromol/litre) the oral dose should be 25mg daily or 50mg on alternate days and the intravenous dose should be 10mg once every four days.
Patients on haemodialysis should be given 50mg orally after each dialysis; this should be done under hospital supervision as marked falls in blood pressure can occur.