Brilinta Information and Uses

Brilinta

Brilinta (generic: ticagrelor) is a prescription medication used to prevent heart attacks and strokes in adults. Brilinta belongs to a group of drugs called antiplatelet medications, which help prevent platelets from forming clots that could lead to heart attacks and strokes.

This medication comes in tablet form and is usually taken twice a day, with or without food, along with a low dose of aspirin.

Some of the common side effects of Brilinta include bleeding and shortness of breath.

Uses of Brilinta

Brilinta is a prescription medicine used, with aspirin, to prevent blood clots in people who:

have had a recent heart attack or severe chest pain that happened because their heart was not getting enough oxygen.
have had a heart attack or chest pain and are being treated with medicines or with a procedure to open blocked arteries in the heart.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Side Effects of Brilinta

Brilinta can cause serious side effects, including:

Serious bleeding. See “Drug Precautions”

Shortness of breath. Call your doctor if you have new or unexpected shortness of breath when you are at rest, at night, or when you are doing any activity. Your doctor can decide what treatment is needed.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

This is not a complete list of Brilinta drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Brilinta Interactions

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Brilinta may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how Brilinta works.

Especially tell your doctor if you take:

an HIV-AIDS medicine
medicine for heart conditions or high blood pressure
medicine for high blood cholesterol levels
an anti-fungal medicine by mouth
an anti-seizure medicine
a blood thinner medicine
rifampin (Rifater, Rifamate, Rimactane, Rifadin)

This is not a complete list of Brilinta drug interactions. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Brilinta Precautions

Brilinta can cause bleeding that can be serious and sometimes lead to death. In cases of serious bleeding, such as internal bleeding, the bleeding may result in the need for blood transfusions or surgery. Call your doctor right away if you:

bruise and bleed more easily
have nose bleeds
are having bleeding that is severe or that you cannot control

have pink, red or brown urine
are vomiting blood or your vomit looks like “coffee grounds”
have red or black stools (looks like tar)
are coughing up blood or blood clots

Do not stop taking Brilinta without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. People who are treated with a stent, and stop taking Brilinta too soon, have a higher risk of getting a blood clot in the stent, having a heart attack, or dying. If you stop Brilinta because of bleeding, or for other reasons, your risk of a heart attack or stroke may increase.

When instructed by your doctor, you should stop taking Brilinta 5 days before you have elective surgery. This will help to decrease your risk of bleeding with your surgery or procedure. Your doctor should tell you when to start taking Brilinta again, as soon as possible after surgery.

Brilinta is taken with aspirin. You should not take a dose of aspirin higher than 100 mg daily because it can affect how well Brilinta works. Do not take doses of aspirin higher than what your doctor tells you to take.

Do not take Brilinta if you:

are bleeding now
have a history of bleeding in the brain
have bleeding from your stomach or intestine now (an ulcer)
have severe liver problems

Brilinta Food Interactions

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice may interact with Brilinta and lead to potentially dangerous effects. Discuss the use of grapefruit products with your doctor.

Inform MD

Before you take Brilinta, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions including if you:

have had bleeding problems in the past
have had any recent serious injury or surgery
plan to have surgery or a dental procedure
have a history of stomach ulcers or colon polyps
have lung problems, such as COPD or asthma
have liver problems
have a history of stroke
are pregnant, or are plan to become pregnant.
are breastfeeding.

Tell all of your doctors and dentists that you are taking Brilinta. They should talk to the doctor who prescribed Brilinta for you before you have any surgery or invasive procedure.

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Brilinta and Pregnancy

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, or are plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Brilinta will harm your unborn baby. You and your doctor should decide if you will take Brilinta.

Brilinta and Lactation

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if Brilinta passes into your breast-milk. You and your doctor should decide if you will take Brilinta or breastfeed. You should not do both without talking with your doctor.

Brilinta Usage

Brilinta comes as a tablet to be taken by mouth with or without food. It is usually taken two times a day. Take your doses of Brilinta around the same time each day. Take Brilinta with a low dose (not more than 100 mg daily) of aspirin, as directed by your doctor. If you forget to take your scheduled dose of Brilinta, take your next dose at its scheduled time. Do not take two doses at the same time unless your doctor tells you to.

Brilinta Dosage

Take Brilinta exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The recommended starting dose of Brilinta is 180 mg (two 90 mg tablets).
Following the loading dose, the recommended Brilinta dose is 90 mg twice daily.
After the initial loading dose of aspirin (usually 325 mg), use Brilinta with a daily maintenance dose of aspirin of 75-100 mg.
ACS patients who have received a loading dose of clopidogrel may be started on Brilinta.

Your doctor will determine how long you should continue to take Brilinta.

Brilinta Overdose

If you take too much Brilinta or overdose, call your doctor or poison control center right away, or go to the nearest emergency room.

Forms of Brilinta

Brilinta is available as 90 mg tablets.

Active ingredient: ticagrelor

Inactive ingredients: mannitol, dibasic calcium phosphate, sodium starch glycolate, hydroxypropyl cellulose, magnesium stearate, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, titanium dioxide, talc, polyethylene glycol 400, and ferric oxide yellow.

Other Requirements

Store Brilinta at room temperature between 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C).

Keep Brilinta and all medicines out of the reach of children.

Brilinta FDA Warning

WARNING: BLEEDING RISK

Brilinta, like other antiplatelet agents, can cause significant, sometimes fatal, bleeding.

Do not use Brilinta in patients with active pathological bleeding or a history of intracranial hemorrhage.

Do not start Brilinta in patients planned to undergo urgent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). When possible, discontinue Brilinta at least 5 days prior to any surgery.

Suspect bleeding in any patient who is hypotensive and has recently undergone coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), CABG, or other surgical procedures in the setting of Brilinta.

If possible, manage bleeding without discontinuing Brilinta. Stopping Brilinta increases the risk of subsequent cardiovascular events.

WARNING: ASPIRIN DOSE AND BRILINTA EFFECTIVENESS

Maintenance doses of aspirin above 100 mg reduce the effectiveness of Brilinta and should be avoided. After any initial dose, use with aspirin 75-100 mg per day.