NitroMed has established NitroMed Cares™, for those patients who are concerned about whether or not they can afford treatment with BiDil. NitroMed Cares offers assistance for patients who are uninsured.

The NitroMed Cares Uninsured Patient Program is designed to help uninsured patients, regardless of income, gain free access to BiDil for as long as they are enrolled in the program. Eligible patients can receive up to a 90-day free supply of BiDil every three months, sent to their physician's office. Eligible patients are those who do not have prescription drug insurance coverage and are under the care of a U.S. physician who has prescribed BiDil as medically appropriate.

Click here for the NitroMed Cares™ Uninsured Patient Program application or call us at 1-888-417-7153 for more information.

Important information about BiDil®
(isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine hydrochloride):

INDICATIONS AND USAGE
BiDil is indicated for the treatment of heart failure as an adjunct to standard therapy in self-identified black patients to improve survival, to prolong time to hospitalization for heart failure, and to improve patient reported functional status. There is little experience in patients with NYHA class IV heart failure. Most patients in the clinical trial supporting effectiveness (A-HeFT) received a loop diuretic, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker, and a beta blocker, and many also received a cardiac glycoside or an aldosterone antagonist.

CONTRAINDICATIONS
BiDil is contraindicated in patients who are allergic to organic nitrates.

WARNINGS
Augmentation of the vasodilatory effects of isosorbide dinitrate by phosphodiesterase inhibitors such as sildenafil, vardenafil, or tadalafil could result in severe hypotension. The time course and dose dependence of this interaction have not been studied. Reasonable supportive care should consist of those measures used to treat a nitrate overdose with elevation of the extremities and central volume expansion.

ADVERSE REACTIONS
Adverse events reported in A-HeFT and seen more frequently in the group given BiDil included headache (50% in BiDil patients vs. 21% in placebo patients) and dizziness (32% in BiDil patients vs. 14% in placebo patients).

The full Prescribing Information for BiDil is available here.