LI doctors advise those taking recalled blood pressure medication to check with pharmacists, physicians

Patients taking a medication used for blood pressure and sleep disorders that has been linked to a cancer-causing chemical should consult with their physicians and pharmacists if they have concerns about the drug, two Long Island health care officials said Friday.

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, which manufactures prazosin hydrochloride, and drug distributor Amerisource Health Services issued voluntary nationwide recalls earlier this month of more than a half-million bottles of the drug, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

Dr. Hal Skopicki, the chief of cardiology at Stony Brook University Hospital and the co-director of the Stony Brook Heart Institute, said the recall was sparked by the presence of nitrosamine in prazosin capsules. Nitrosamine is found in small amounts in many everyda