Brilinta Side Effects

Severe Side Effects of Brilinta

Serious, potentially lethal bleeding may occur while taking Brilinta. See Black Box Warning.
Brilinta may cause bradyarrhythmia or lowered heart rate.
Breast enlargment in men, although rare, has occurred in some patients taking Brilinta.

Common Side Effects of Brilinta

The most common side effects include less serious bleeding, coughing, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, and fatigue.
Brilinta may occasionally cause nosebleeds and shortness of breath (dyspnea).

Warnings & Recalls for Brilinta

Black Box Warnings

Brilinta may cause or lead to potentially fatal bleeding. The patient should not take Brilinta if active pathological bleeding, such as a peptic ulcer or bleeding inside the skull, is present.
Patients about to undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery should not start Brilinta treatment.
Quit taking Brilinta at least 5 days before surgery.
Brilinta may aggravate or cause severe bleeding in patients who have undergone or are undergoing heart surgery.
Discontinuing Brilinta may increase the chance of having another serious cardiac such as heart attack.
Daily doses of Aspirin over 100 mg may greatly reduce the efficacy of Brilinta.

Other Warnings

Patients with a history of liver failure or impaired liver function should not take Brilinta. However, if liver problems are less severe, the patient should discuss using Brilinta with their doctor.
Brilinta is a pregnancy category class C drug. In animal tests, the drug caused birth defects and abnormalities. Brilinta may pass through breast milk during breastfeeding.
Do not take Brilinta while taking Phenobarbital, Carbamazepine, or Ritonavir.
Digoxin levels should be monitored if the patient is taking both Digoxin and Brilinta.

Brilinta Treatment and Use

Brilinta | Ticagrelor is an antiplatelet, or blood thinner, medication prescribed to prevent additional heart attacks in patients who have previously had one. Brilinta was recently approved for U.S. sale in July of 2011 and is marketed by AstraZeneca.

How does Brilinta work?

Brilinta works to deter platelets from sticking together, which may ultimately lead to thrombosis (blood clot), heart attack, or a stroke.

Dosage

Brilinta is available in 90 mg tablet form. The initial dose is 180 mg as well as a 325 mg loading dose of aspirin. After this, take 90 mg of Brilinta twice a day and 75-100 mg of aspirin daily. A daily aspirin dose over 100 mg will lower the efficacy of Brilinta.

Other Names for Brilinta

Brand Names

Brilinta (U.S.)

Brilique (European Union)

Generic

Ticagrelor