About enalapril

Enalapril belongs to a class of medicines called inibidores da enzima conversora de angiotensina (ECA). You may have been prescribed it to reduce high blood pressure (hypertension), or to prevent (or treat) insuficiência cardíaca. Heart failure is a condition where your heart does not work as well as it should.

ACE inhibitors like enalapril prevent your body from creating a hormone known as angiotensin II. They do this by blocking (inhibiting) a chemical called angiotensin-converting enzyme. This widens your blood vessels and helps to reduce the amount of water put back into your blood by your kidneys. These actions help to decrease blood pressure. Although people with high blood pressure often do not feel unwell, if left untreated, high blood pressure can harm the heart and damage blood vessels, leading to a heart attack or stroke. Enalapril can be used on its own or alongside other medicines which reduce blood pressure. A combination brand called Innozide® (which contains enalapril with another medicine called hydrochlorothiazide) can help to reduce the total number of tablets people with high blood pressure need to take each day.

In heart failure, there can be too much circulating fluid in your blood vessels because your heart is not working as efficiently as it once did. Enalapril helps to reduce this. It also appears to have a protective effect on the heart and slows the progression of the heart failure.

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine can only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start taking enalapril it is important that your doctor knows:

• Se você está grávida ou amamentando.

• Se você tiver algum problema com o funcionamento dos seus rins, ou qualquer problema com o funcionamento do seu fígado.

• Se você está com falta de líquidos no corpo (desidratado) - por exemplo, se teve diarreia ou vômito recentemente.

• Se você foi informado de que tem um acúmulo de depósitos de gordura nas paredes das suas artérias, uma condição chamada aterosclerose.

• Se você tem um tipo específico de má circulação chamado doença arterial periférica.

• Se você tem doença vascular do colágeno - isso inclui condições como lúpus eritematoso sistêmico (LES) e esclerodermia.

• Se você foi informado de que tem doença do músculo cardíaco (cardiomiopatia) ou estreitamento do principal vaso sanguíneo do seu coração (estenose aórtica).

• Se você já teve uma reação em que seu rosto, língua ou garganta incha (angioedema).

• Se você está fazendo tratamento de dessensibilização para se proteger contra picadas de abelhas e vespas.

• Se você está fazendo tratamento de diálise, ou tratamento para remover colesterol do seu sangue por uma máquina (aférese de LDL).

• Se você estiver tomando outros medicamentos. Isso inclui quaisquer medicamentos que você esteja tomando e que estejam disponíveis para compra sem receita médica, bem como medicamentos fitoterápicos e complementares.

• If you have ever had an allergic or unusual reaction to any other ACE inhibitor (such as captopril, ramipril or perindopril), or to any other medicine.

• Before you start the treatment, read the manufacturer's printed information leaflet from inside the pack. It will give you more information about enalapril and will provide you with a full list of side-effects which you could experience from taking it.

• Take the tablets exactly as your doctor tells you to.

• If you are being treated for high blood pressure: enalapril is taken once a day. You will be advised to take your very first dose at bedtime. This is because you can feel quite dizzy when you first start taking it. After the first dose, you can generally take enalapril at a time of day you find easy to remember. For most people this will be in the morning.

• If you are being treated for heart failure: your doctor will give you a small once-daily dose to begin with, and then your dose will be increased gradually over a few weeks. Once the dose has been increased, enalapril is commonly taken as two doses a day, one taken in the morning and the other in the evening. Increasing your dose slowly like this helps to avoid unwanted side-effects, such as dizziness.

• Try to take your doses at the same time(s) of day each day as this will help you to remember to take your doses regularly. You can take enalapril tablets either with or without food. It is best to swallow the tablet with a drink of water.

• There are several strengths of enalapril tablet. Your doctor will prescribe the strength which is suitable for your condition. Each time you collect a new supply, check to make sure the tablets are the strength that you are expecting.

• If you forget to take a dose at your usual time, take it as soon as you remember (unless it is nearly time for your next dose, in which case do not take the forgotten dose but take the next dose when it is due). Do not take two doses together to make up for a missed dose.

• Tente manter suas consultas regulares com seu médico. Isso é para que seu progresso possa ser monitorado. Seu médico vai querer que você faça alguns exames de sangue de tempos em tempos para verificar se seus rins estão funcionando bem.

• É muito importante que você siga qualquer conselho dietético e de estilo de vida que tenha recebido do seu médico. Isso pode incluir conselhos sobre comer uma dieta saudável, não fumar e fazer exercícios regularmente.

• If you buy any medicines, check with a pharmacist that they are suitable to take with enalapril. This is because some medicines (such as anti-inflammatory painkillers and indigestion remedies) can interfere with your treatment.

• It is likely that your doctor will advise that you do not use salt substitutes while you are taking enalapril. These products have a high content of potassium which could be harmful for you.

• If you drink alcohol, ask your doctor for advice about drinking alcohol while you are on enalapril. Alcoholic drinks can make you feel light-headed or dizzy, and they may not be advisable for you.

• If you have diabetes you may need to check your blood glucose more frequently, as the tablets can lower the levels of sugar in your blood. Your doctor will advise you about this.

• If you are having an operation or dental treatment, tell the person carrying out the treatment that you are taking enalapril. This is because some anaesthetics could cause your blood pressure to drop too low.

• Treatment with enalapril is often long-term unless you experience an adverse effect. Continue to take the tablets unless you are advised otherwise.

Se você também estiver tomando hidroclorotiazida em combinação com este medicamento

• Estudos sugerem que tomar doses mais altas de hidroclorotiazida por longos períodos de tempo pode aumentar o risco de certos tipos de câncer de pele.

• Informe o seu médico se você já foi tratado para câncer de pele antes.

• Informe seu médico sobre qualquer nova pinta ou alteração em pintas existentes, ou marcas preocupantes na sua pele.

• Use protetor solar sob luz solar intensa. Não use camas de bronzeamento.

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the more common ones associated with enalapril. The best place to find a full list of the side-effects which can be associated with your medicine, is from the manufacturer's printed information leaflet supplied with the medicine. Alternatively, you can find an example of a manufacturer's information leaflet in the reference section below. Speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

Importante: if you experience any of the following potentially serious symptoms, stop taking enalapril and contact your doctor for advice straightaway:

• Qualquer dificuldade para respirar, ou inchaço no rosto, boca, língua ou garganta. Estes são sinais de uma reação alérgica.

• Any yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes. These may be signs of a liver problem called jaundice, which is a rare side-effect.

• Uma erupção cutânea grave.

Se você sentir quaisquer outros sintomas que acha que podem ser causados pelos comprimidos, fale com seu médico ou farmacêutico para mais orientações.

• Mantenha todos os medicamentos fora do alcance e da vista das crianças.

• Armazene em local fresco e seco, longe de calor e luz diretos.