Ramipril

Know your Diabetes medication, one dose at a time! By Dr Manash Barauah

Mechanism of action

Ramipril is primarily an anti-hypertensive, i.e. it controls blood pressure. It belongs to the class of drugs called ACE inhibitors.

It is also used for prevention and treatment of chronic kidney and congestive heart failure as Ramipril possesses anti-albuminuric qualities (slows down renal disease) and cardio-protective properties. There was seen to be a 27 per cent reduction in mortality of patients receiving Ramipril for chronic heart failure following a myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Rx

Ramipril is administered as oral tablets. Ramipril is also available in capsule form when it is combined with aspirin and atorvastatin (lowers cholesterol in blood).

Advantages

Ramipril control blood pressure and slows the progression of kidney disease, ischemic and congestive heart disease.

Side effects

The side effects caused by Ramipiril are:

• Dry cough (affects 1 in 4users necessitating stopping its use)

• Increase in potassium level in blood, especially in advanced kidney disease patients.

Some rare side effects include:

• Drug allergy

• 1st dose hypotension (low blood pressure)

• Impotence (erectile dysfunction)

• Low blood sugar (in patients taking medication for Diabetes)

• Sweating or shakiness

• Gynecomastia (enlarged breast in male)

May be used

Rampril may be used by patient with heart failure, stroke or cerebro-vascular agent, patient with albumiuria (passage of albumin, a kind of protein, in urine due to intrinsic kidney disease)

• To control their blood pressure

• To prevent heart attacks, heart failure, ischemic heart disease (especially those who have experienced a heart attack

Should not be used

This drug should not be taken by patients who have

• previous allergy to Ramipril or a drug of its parent class

• woman planning pregnancy or who is already pregnant

• a patient with known hyperkalemia (increased potassium level in blood)

• reno-vascular disease (impaired blood flow in the kidneys)

• Sweating or shakiness

• severe renal impairment (patients with one kidney or with bilateral renal artery stenosis)

Dr Manash Baruah is Consultant endocrinologist at Excel Diabetes and Endocrine centre, Guwahati