Enalapril
About Enalapril
Enalapril is a prescription medicine used to lower high blood pressure and help manage heart failure. By keeping your blood pressure under control, this medicine reduces the risk of serious cardiovascular events like strokes or heart attacks. It is also used to protect the heart in patients who have a weakened heart muscle.
For the best results, you should take this medicine consistently every single day at the same time. You can take it with or without food, as eating does not change how the medicine is absorbed. Adopting healthy habits, such as eating a low-salt diet and getting regular physical activity, will significantly improve how well this medicine works for you.
While taking this medicine, you might experience mild side effects like a dry cough or mild lightheadedness when you stand up. However, you must contact your healthcare provider immediately if you experience serious symptoms, such as severe dizziness, difficulty breathing, or sudden swelling of your lips and face.
Talk to your doctor before starting this medicine if you have kidney disease, diabetes, or a history of severe allergic swelling. Do not take this if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction to similar blood pressure medicines.
Enalapril may also be prescribed in certain children with specific heart or kidney conditions. Treatment in children should always be supervised by a specialist, with dosing adjusted according to the child's age, weight, and medical condition.
This medicine can interact with other drugs like potassium supplements or water pills, which can cause your potassium levels to rise too high. It is also important to limit alcohol intake while taking this medicine to avoid unsafe drops in blood pressure. If you are breastfeeding, elderly, or have complex medical conditions, consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting treatment.
Uses of Enalapril
Medicinal Benefits
Enalapril provides important long-term protective benefits and helps improve your physical comfort:
- Protects vital organs: By maintaining stable blood pressure, Enalapril helps prevent long-term damage to critical organs like your kidneys, brain, and eyes.
- Improves physical comfort: For people with heart weakness, it decreases physical strain, helping you breathe more easily and participate in daily activities without feeling prematurely exhausted.
- Reduces emergency risks: Regular daily use helps keep your condition stable, which significantly lowers your risk of needing emergency hospital stays due to heart complications.
Directions for Use
To get the safest and most effective results from your medicine, follow these instructions:
- Swallow the tablet whole with a full glass of water.
- You can take this medicine either with or without food.
- Try to take it at the same time each day to maintain consistent levels in your body.
- Do not crush, chew, or split the tablet unless your healthcare provider specifically instructs you to do so.
- Always follow your doctor's exact instructions regarding your dose and schedule.
Storage
Side Effects of Enalapril
Common Side Effects (Usually mild):
- A dry, tickly cough that does not go away
- Dizziness or lightheadedness, especially when standing up quickly
- Feeling unusually tired or weak
- Headaches
Serious Side Effects (Call a doctor right away):
- Swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat (trouble breathing or swallowing)
- Severe, sudden stomach pain
- Yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes (signs of liver damage)
- A very slow, fast, or irregular heartbeat
Medicines Containing this Salt
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Drug Warnings
Keep these vital safety precautions in mind while using this medication:
- Stand up slowly: To prevent dizziness or falls, take your time when moving from a sitting or lying position to a standing one.
- Check over-the-counter medicines: Talk to your pharmacist before taking cold, allergy, or cough medicines, as many contain decongestants that can raise your blood pressure.
- Keep your medical appointments: You will need regular blood tests to monitor your kidney health and check the potassium levels in your blood while taking this medicine.
- Stop immediately if you suspect pregnancy: This medicine can cause serious harm to an unborn baby. Contact your doctor immediately if you think you are pregnant.
Be cautious in hot weather: Heavy sweating or dehydration from heat can cause your blood pressure to drop too low, making you feel faint.
Drug Interactions
Drug-Drug Interactions
- Potassium supplements or potassium-sparing water pills: May lead to dangerously high levels of potassium in your blood, which can affect your heart rhythm.
- Other blood pressure medications: Can excessively lower your blood pressure or increase the risk of kidney strain.
NSAIDs (like ibuprofen or naproxen): Can reduce the blood-pressure-lowering effect of this medicine and increase the risk of severe kidney damage. - Lithium: Can cause toxic levels of lithium to build up in your body, leading to serious side effects.
- Sacubitril/Valsartan (ARNI): Do not take Enalapril together with sacubitril/valsartan. Combining these medicines significantly increases the risk of angioedema, a potentially life-threatening swelling of the face, tongue, or throat.
Drug-Food Interactions
Potassium-rich salt substitutes: Can cause a dangerous increase in blood potassium levels when taken alongside this medicine.
Drug-Disease Interactions
- Kidney disease: May require closer monitoring of kidney function and blood tests to avoid worsening renal health.
- Diabetes: Combining this medicine with certain other diabetes drugs (like aliskiren) is generally not recommended in people with diabetes or kidney impairment because it may increase the risk of low blood pressure, elevated potassium levels, and worsening kidney function.
- History of angioedema: Do not take this medicine if you have a history of swelling of the face, tongue, or throat, as it can trigger a life-threatening airway blockage.
Drug-Drug Interactions Checker List:
Safety Advice
Alcohol
unsafeEnalapril may enhance the hypotensive (low blood pressure) effect of this drug. For better advise, you should consult your doctor whether you can take Enalapril with alcohol.
Pregnancy
unsafeEnalapril is usually contraindicated during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. It may cause harm to the developing foetus. Therefore, you should consult your physician before using Enalapril.
Breast Feeding
cautionUsing Enalapril is not recommended during breastfeeding.
Driving
unsafeDrive with caution, as Enalapril may cause blurry vision and dizziness.
Liver
cautionRare elevations in liver enzymes (such as bilirubin) have been observed while taking Enalapril, so it should be taken with caution, especially if you have a history of liver disease or conditions. The dose may have to be adjusted by your doctor.
Kidney
cautionEnalapril should be used with caution, especially in cases of severe kidney disease. The dose may have to be adjusted by your doctor. Enalapril should be used with caution in patients on haemodialysis.
Children
cautionEnalapril is not recommended for children, as its safety and efficacy have not been established in this population. Please consult your doctor to decide whether to give Enalapril to your child.
Habit Forming
Diet & Lifestyle Advise
Making specific daily changes can help your medicine work more effectively and keep you safe:
- Avoid potassium-based salt substitutes: This medicine can cause your body to retain potassium. Using salt substitutes that contain potassium can lead to dangerously high levels in your blood.
- Adopt a low-sodium diet: Reducing your daily salt intake helps your medicine work more effectively to lower your blood pressure and reduce fluid build-up.
- Stay safely hydrated: Unless your doctor has advised you to limit fluids, make sure to drink enough water. Dehydration can increase the risk of dizziness and kidney strain while taking this medicine.
- Limit your alcohol intake: Drinking alcohol can cause your blood pressure to drop too low when combined with this medicine, leading to severe dizziness or fainting.
Special Advise
- If hypotension (low blood pressure) occurs, the patient should be placed in the supine position and, if necessary, should receive an intravenous infusion of normal saline.
Patients Concern
Disease/Condition Glossary
Hypertension (high blood pressure): It is a chronic (lifelong) condition that occurs when the blood exerts excessive pressure against the walls of the arteries. It may not cause noticeable symptoms initially, but over time, it can strain the heart, damage blood vessels, and affect the kidneys and other organs. If left uncontrolled, high blood pressure can increase the risk of serious health problems such as heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease.
FAQs
Enalapril is used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure). It is also used to treat heart failure and help prevent its symptoms.
Enalapril contains Enalapril, which works by blocking a naturally occurring substance called angiotensin II, which tightens the blood vessels. Enalapril relaxes and widens the blood vessels, thereby helping to lower high blood pressure and reduce the heart’s workload.
No, it is a prescribed drug, given by a physician for preventing specific medical conditions. Taking it on your own can cause unwanted side effects.
Before surgery, you should inform your doctor that you are taking Enalapril as it can reduce your blood pressure when used along with anaesthesia, which is given before a major operation.
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next scheduled dose, skip the missed one entirely and continue with your normal routine. Never take a double dose to make up for a missed one. Talk to your doctor.
Enalapril may cause side effects such as nausea, weakness, cough, dizziness and blurred vision. If these side effects persist or worsen, please consult your doctor.
No, Enalapril does not cause excessive urination. Normal kidney function may not be affected by Enalapril. However, when Enalapril is given with a diuretic (water pill, a medicine that increases the urine output), kidney damage may occur. In this case, either the diuretic should be discontinued or its dose reduced. If you have severe heart failure or your kidneys are already affected, then there is a risk of kidney failure. However, kidney damage can be reversed by timely and appropriate treatment.
Rarely, Enalapril may cause yellowing of the skin and eyes, increased liver enzymes, and loss of appetite. Additionally, it might cause significant liver damage and even death. Therefore, if you experience any such symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.
You should be cautious when taking Enalapril with hydrochlorothiazide, as it can further lower your blood pressure. You may also develop kidney failure symptoms, such as reduced urine output and swelling of your legs, ankles, and feet due to water retention. While others may experience unexplained shortness of breath, persistent nausea, excessive drowsiness or fatigue, pain, confusion, or pressure in the chest and seizures (fits). These symptoms typically occur if there is considerable water or salt loss prior to starting Enalapril. Therefore, if you experience any of these symptoms, contact your doctor, who will either advise you to stop taking hydrochlorothiazide or lower the dose. The doctor may also recommend you Enalapril in very low doses when used in combination with hydrochlorothiazide.
Enalapril starts working within a few hours. However, it may take a few weeks to see its full effects. After taking Enalapril for high blood pressure, you may not notice any difference until you get your blood pressure checked. It may take a few weeks to months before you start feeling better, if you are taking Enalapril for heart failure.
You should take Enalapril for as long as your doctor advises. High blood pressure and heart failure are often long-term conditions, so treatment may be needed for many years or even lifelong. Do not stop taking Enalapril without consulting your doctor, even if your blood pressure is under control or you feel well, as stopping treatment may cause your condition to worsen.
Yes, Enalapril can be used long-term, as it is generally well tolerated by most people. However, long-term use can impair kidney function. Your doctor will recommend regular blood tests to check whether your kidneys are functioning properly.
No, Enalapril is generally not recommended during pregnancy because it can cause serious harm to an unborn baby, particularly during the second and third trimesters. If you are pregnant, think you may be pregnant, or are planning a pregnancy, contact your doctor immediately. Do not stop or change your treatment without medical guidance, as your doctor can advise you on safer alternative treatment options.
This medicine can cause a buildup of a natural chemical called bradykinin in your airway, which can trigger a dry, tickly cough in some people. This cough is harmless but does not respond to standard cough medicines. If the cough becomes severe or keeps you awake, talk to your doctor.
Yes, you should avoid salt substitutes that contain potassium, as well as high-dose potassium supplements, because this medicine can naturally raise potassium levels in your blood. Consuming extra potassium can lead to unsafe heart rhythms. Talk to your doctor.
You should avoid taking pain relievers like ibuprofen or naproxen regularly while on this medicine. These drugs can prevent Enalapril from lowering your blood pressure effectively and can also increase the risk of kidney damage. Consult your doctor before using ibuprofen or other painkillers with Enalapril.
Yes, this medicine reduces the amount of potassium your kidneys filter out, which can cause potassium to build up in your blood. Your doctor will perform regular blood tests to monitor your potassium levels and ensure they stay within a safe range. Talk to your doctor.
Yes, Enalapril may be prescribed for certain children with specific heart or kidney conditions. Treatment should only be given under specialist supervision, and the dose is carefully adjusted based on the child's age, weight, and medical condition.
