Accupril Risks and Precautions

Accupril is a medication known as an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE). This medication is used to help treat high blood pressure. It works to lower high blood pressure by causing blood vessels to widen by relaxing them. Lowering high blood pressure will help to prevent heart attacks, kidney problems, and strokes. Learning about the possible contraindications, drug interactions, and side effects is necessary for your safety.

Accupril Risks and Precautions: Side Effects

As you adjust to this medication, you can experience dizziness or lightheadedness, back pain, nausea or vomiting, dry cough, fatigue, and blurry vision. For most patients, these side effects will subside in a few weeks. If they get worse or do not let up, contact your physician and discuss this with them.

The serious side effects will require you to contact your physician right away. These include decreased sexual ability and fainting.

Liver problems that are possibly fatal, rarely occur, but they are possible. If any of the following serious side effects occur, you need to obtain immediate medical attention. These symptoms include jaundice, abdominal pain (can be severe), persistent nausea, dark urine, and persistent fatigue.

Accupril Risks and Precautions: Contraindications

You may not be able to take accupril if you have other medical conditions. These include certain allergies (such as to other ACE inhibitors), angioedema, kidney disease, high levels of potassium in the blood, blood vessel disease, loss of sodium, liver disease, severe dehydration, a collagen vascular disease, scleroderma, or lupus.

Do not take accupril if you are breastfeeding because it does pass into breast milk. If you are pregnant ask your doctor about taking this medication.

Accupril Risks and Precautions: Drug Interactions

Accupril can interact with other medications. These can include drugs that suppress your immune system, lithium, azathioprine, celecoxib, indomethacin, ibuprofen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, potassium supplements, trimethoprim-containing medications, salt substitutes, potassium-sparing water pills, gold injections, spironolactone, amiloride, triamterene, and other medications cannot be taken at the same time as accupril, such as tetracycline antibiotics. If you are receiving desensitization injections, a serious reaction can occur with this medication.

Accupril Risks and Precautions: Other Precautions

It is crucial that you have all laboratory testing done that is necessary. Your doctor will determine when and how often this needs to be done. This testing is important because it is done to ensure the medication is not causing you any serious problems and to ensure it is working well.

Resources

http://www.rxlist.com/accupril-drug.htm