Enalapril side effects, dosage, interactions by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Enalapril is an ACE inhibitor used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure. Enalapril is also used in combination with other medications to treat heart failure. Enalapril is in a class of medications called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. It works by decreasing certain chemicals that tighten the blood vessels, so blood flows more smoothly and the heart can pump blood more efficiently.
 

Enalapril availability
Enalapril comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken once or twice a day with or without food.

Enalapril for hypertension
Enalapril controls high blood pressure and heart failure but does not cure them.

Enalapril Side Effect

Enalapril may cause side effects. Some of these side effects include: cough, dizziness, rash,  and weakness. Some enalapril side effects can be serious. These serious enalapril side effects are: swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, eyes, hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs, difficulty breathing or swallowing, fever, sore throat, chills, and other signs of infection, dizziness of fainting.

Enalapril after Cardiac Surgery

Treatment with ACE inhibitors interferes with red blood cell formation and increases the risk of prolonged episodes of anemia after heart surgery. A study of 42 men with anemia after cardiac surgery was conducted at Istituto Maria Nascente Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi in Milan by Dr. Vittorino Ripamonti and colleagues. Approximately nine days after surgery, patients were randomized to enalapril maleate or not. All patients received ferrous sulfate 325 mg plus standard post-cardiac surgical therapy, including beta-blockers and antiplatelet drugs if coronary artery disease was the setting, or diuretics and anticoagulants if it was valvular disease. At 16 days, patients receiving enalapril had peak hemoglobin levels 1 g/dL lower and red blood cell counts 444 RBCs/mL lower than patients not receiving the ACE inhibitor. By 60 days after randomization, hemoglobin and RBC counts were moving toward normal in both groups, but remained lower in those on enalapril. "In the postoperative period, when a prompt erythropoietic response is crucial, the positive actions of (ACE inhibitors) may be counterbalanced by persistent anemia, thus leading to a slower functional recovery," Dr. Ripamonti and colleagues conclude. Chest 2006;130:79-84.