Atacand Plus combines two medicines that have different ways of working (modes of action) and leads to a greater lowering of blood pressure in more people than with either medicine used alone.

• Candesartan (see Atacand) works by blocking the action of a hormone (a natural chemical carried in the blood) called angiotensin II:
  • It stops angiotensin II attaching itself (binding) to sites (called receptors) found on cells in the body.
    
    
  • In the body Angiotensin II causes blood vessels to become narrowed (constricted) and in the kidney, it causes less urine to be produced so salt and water are retained in the body. These actions may be part of the cause of high blood pressure.
    
    
  • If angiotensin II can’t bind to the receptors because of the action of candesartan, the blood vessels relax and widen and blood pressure decreases.
    
    
• Hydrochlorothiazide is a medicine called a water tablet or diuretic:
  
  
  • It works mainly by stopping the re-absorption of sodium (salt) and water from the kidneys back into the blood stream.
    
    
  • This results in increased urine output (diuresis) and increased sodium loss in the urine. These effects lower the blood pressure.