ACE inhibitors are used to treat heart disease. These medicines make your heart work less hard by lowering your blood pressure. This keeps some kinds of heart disease from getting worse. These medicines treat high blood pressure, strokes, or heart attacks. They are also used to treat diabetes and kidney problems. This can help keep your kidneys from getting worse.
The use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to treat hypertension has recently increased. However, their use is associated with a persistent dry cough in a significant percentage of such patients. Patients who take ACE inhibitors and develop a chronic cough, will usually have the drug discontinued by their doctor. A recent study showed that susceptibility to develop cough is associated with a genetic variant of the bradykinin B2 receptor promoter; thus, it may be possible to identify patients who will develop this adverse reaction to ACE inhibitors in advance.1
Related to:
Enalapril, Vasotec, Imidapril, Lisinopril, Prinivil, Zestril