Nesiritide

Nesiritide is a prescription medication used to treat patients with severe heart failure who have trouble breathing. Nesiritide belongs to a group of drugs called vasodilators. These work by relaxing blood vessels and increasing the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart while reducing its workload.

Nesiritide is available in an injectable form that is given directly into a vein (IV) by a healthcare professional.

Common side effects of nesiritide include low blood pressure, nausea, headache, and back pain.

Nesiritide can also cause dizziness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how nesiritide affects you.

Nesiritide is a prescription medication used to treat patients with severe heart failure who have trouble breathing.

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

Nesiritide may be found in some form under the following brand names:

• Natrecor

Serious side effects have been reported with nesiritide. See the "Drug Precautions" section.

Common side effects of nesiritide include the following: 

• low blood pressure
• nausea
• back pain
• headache
• dizziness

This is not a complete list of nesiritide side effects. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

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

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

No drug interactions have been studied by the manufacturer. However, you should tell your doctor about all the medicines you take including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Not all drug interactions are known or reported and new drug interactions are continually being reported.

Serious side effects have been reported with nesiritide including the following: 

• Low blood pressure. Your doctor will monitor your blood pressure. 
• Worsening kidney problems. Your doctor will monitor how well your kidneys are working during treatment and after treatment. 
• Allergic reaction. 

Do not receive nesiritide if you:

• are allergic to nesiritide or to any of its ingredients
• have a systolic blood pressure of <100 mmHg before therapy
• are in cardiogenic shock 

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of nesiritide, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Before receiving nesiritide, tell your doctor about all of your medical conditions. Especially tell your doctor if you:

• are allergic to nesiritide or to any of its ingredients
• have a history or have kidney problems
• have low blood pressure
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant 
• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed

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

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

Nesiritide falls into category C. There are no well-controlled studies that have been done in pregnant women. Nesiritide should be used during pregnancy only if the possible benefit outweighs the possible risk to the unborn baby.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

It is not known if nesiritide crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using nesiritide.

Receive nesiritide exactly as prescribed.

Nesiritide is available in an injectable form that is given directly into a vein (IV) by a healthcare professional.

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

The dose your doctor recommends may be based on the following:

• your blood pressure
• your weight
• your response to Natrecor

The recommended dose of Natrecor (nesiritide) is a bolus of 2 mcg/kg followed by a continuous infusion of 0.01 mcg/kg/min. 

If nesiritide is administered by a healthcare provider in a medical setting, it is unlikely that an overdose will occur. However, if overdose is suspected, seek emergency medical attention.