ramipril and cough

I fortuitously recently came across this web site and have since found it to be absolutely enfranchising in it's publication of a wide cross section of patient reactions to a variety of medicinal interventions. Of particular interest is the wide ranging response to the administration of the drug Ramipril. This was one of several drugs that was prescribed to my husband following a heart attack and one of two which caused him the most unease, the other being Simvastatin. Not to beat about the Mulberry he quickly, though not necessarily correctly, deduced that Ramipril was leaving him unable to climb the stairs without stopping halfway; that Rampiril was possibly instrumental in the degradation of his hitherto unblemished complexion and that in what seemed an unholy trinity he had been left with an irritatingly persistent, dry cough that effectively interfered with what was left of his social life. Something that I had been unsuccessfully trying to do for many years! As for the Simvastatin, whatever the efficacy of it's supposed merits, within a fortnight he felt able to conclude that it had effectively reduced a person who hitherto could out-sleep a narcoleptic to a grumpy insomniac. Suffice to say they no longer form part of his remedial regime, the former having been replaced with a daily capsule of Hawthorn and the latter by a nightly glass or two of red wine! I hasten to add that this is not by way of a recommendation, especially as the change is but a few days from it's inception. However I am pleased to report that a particularly nasty facial erruption seems to be going the same way as Vesuvius.

I have been taking ramipril for about a year, I have constant cough, tickly throat, rumbling in the ears, constantly out of breath. Had a severe muscle spasm 6 months ago and was in hospital. I never realised it could be the ramipril. I am going to stop taking it immediately. Good job I found this forum.

My Doctor Started me on Ramipril two months ago, and within two days I had developed a persistent dry cough. At first I wondered if I was going in for a cold or Maybe it was Hay fever, so my wife suggested Hay fever tablets, these actually relieved the symptoms for about six to eight hours, but then their effect wore off; as the recomended dose was only one a day, I was left to suffer the remaining part of that day. My suspicion about the cause was confirmed when I forgot to take my medication on a weeks holiday to Spain; after two days my cough had dissapeared and I actually felt much better in myself. On returning to the UK, I restarted my tablets, and the cough returned. I have now made an appointment to see the Doctor about changing my prescription; I am also looking into diets which claim to lower blood pressure, and have started my own execise programe; hopefully I can eventually dispence with having to use a drug to control my blood pressure.

My gp warned me straight off while prescribing Ramipril that I might develop a dry cough. Which i did not, until a few weeks later when the Ramipril was increased from25 to 50mg, and then it started. That was a few weeks ago and I'll be going there this week to discuss this.

hello they call it am ACE cough- very common and very easily treated - stop it and start a different job which will still do a fab job in BP but wont give you the cough ! GP a bit naughty not to relate the two - very common in many people!

Unfortunatly there isn't much relief. Ramapril prevents the enzyme angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE - hence ACE inhibitor) from turning angiotensin 1 into angiotensin 2. However, ACE is not a specific enzyme and inhibting it leads to a build up of another protein, bradykinin, in the lungs. This can cause sensitivity of the trachea and the horrendous cough.

You could get your medicine changed to an agiotensin 2 receptor antagonist (such as losartan). This drug does not stop the production of angiotensin 2, rather it prevents it from having its usual effect. Because ACE is not inhibited it prevents the build up of bradykinin in the lungs and subsequently prevents the cough.

My girlfriend found that inhaling vicks (or another form of menthylated decongestant) helped her, though this was only short term and needed repeating several times a day.

Should have mentioned that agiotensin 2 receptor antagoinsts are much more expensive, so doctors are uneasy about prescribing them initially.