ace inhibitors - side affects?

[Christine]

Hi all, I have a customer who is going thru some health issues right now.. he's 37 years old who has high BP and cholesterol.. he was on one med for the BP, but last week was out due to extremely high BP (stroke / heart attack range) - he dr said he also found some calcium in his aorta.. he's not sure of "specifics" except that his dr mentioned about also putting him on a ace inhibitor.. he's currently on "annetol" (sp? sorry, at lunch and leaving early, didn't have time to research the correct spelling) ... he was wandering about any side affects from ace inhibitors.. he knows he needs to manage his bp and cholesteroal better along with stress.. he wants to be around for his wife and kids, but is also kinda shaken up a bit as this is the second episode within a month. he's not on any cholesterol meds yet.. but will be..

any thoughts about ace inhibitors.. side effects etc.. thanks

Chris

 

[Ross]

Atenolol is a beta blocker, so I'm not sure what he means by annetol even if mispelled. Find out what the drug is and then go to www.drugstore.com and find it in prescriptions. The full dosing, side effects ect will be listed. The largest side effect from ACE inhibitors is a nagging cough.

 

[Christine]

hey Ross, no annetol was my spelling.. in a hurry.. anyway, he's already taking atenolol and his dr is thinking of putting him a ace inhibitor on top of atenolo..

thanks

Chris

 

[Georgia]

The dreaded dry cough; but usually you can find a brand that you tolerate.

Ace inhibitors are also postassium-sparing, so if he's on a diuretic (usually first line for bp control) with postassium, they will take him off the postassium.

Other than that, they seem to be good meds - especially helpful for chf.

 

[joanne6]

I agree that the dry cough is the worst part of Ace inhibitor therapy. They work well with Beta blockers which is the Atenolol. Is he a diabetic. Highly recommeneded for diabetics to be on Ace meds. If the cough is a problem the doctor can switch to an ARB which works in a similar way but without the cough. There are other more complex s/e of these meds but not as bad as the damage from high blood pressure.

 

[bvdr]

Several months ago I was put on Altace to lower my B/P and thereby also hopefully reduce pulmonary pressures and help with CHF. I had a bit of a cough at first but that eventually cleared and I have truly felt better. I am less SOB and have less edema and more energy. I also had my other B/P meds changed so I don't know what effects are from what drug. I know some doctors feel that every single patient with CHF needs to be on an ACE inhibitor. Calcium channel blockers make me very Short of Breath and Beta blockers make me so lethargic but the ACE inhibitor did nothing but help.

 

[William]

I've been on the AI for 3+ years. Add a dry mouth to all the other mentioned side effects, especially at night.

 

[Sherry]

I've been on 10 mg of Altace for a little over 2 months and haven't noticed anything substantial. My BP has come down to a very healthy range since I've been on it.

 

[Sir Reel]

I have been on an ace inhibitor for 5 years (Lisinopril, which is combined with a diuretic) and I haven't noticed any particular side effects. I believe it makes it easier to put on weight and harder to take it off, but my cardios don't agree.

 

[Christine]

thanks all, I gave him the link to this thread to review.. thanks for your input..

Chris

 

[Sir Reel]

I should have added that they make many (most or all?) people extremely photosensitive and sunblock is a must even for relatively short periods of exposure to sun.

 

[William]

I have not noticed any changed effects of the sun, although my daily exposure is as little as possible. I've had some skin cancer in the past, so I use sun screen and clothing as a preventive. If I was a tanner, getting a lot of sun, I might have seen some effects of the Ace Inhibitors.

 

[francie12]

On ACE Inhibitors for a year and a half and, happily, no side effects whatsoever.

 

[Gemma]

I agree that the dry cough is the worst part of Ace inhibitor therapy. They work well with Beta blockers which is the Atenolol. Is he a diabetic. Highly recommeneded for diabetics to be on Ace meds. If the cough is a problem the doctor can switch to an ARB which works in a similar way but without the cough. There are other more complex s/e of these meds but not as bad as the damage from high blood pressure.

My mum and Jim both used to take an ACE inhibitor (ramipril) - both had problems with achy muscles, feeling really spaced out after taking the pill so had to take it at night, and stomach upsets.

Jim no longer takes it as his cardio let him stop, and my mum switched to an ARB (Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker) which has (for her) no unpleasant side effects and her BP's lower than it's been in years. I don't know if ARBs are newer, but they seem like a good alternative if you can't take ACE inhibitors.