A 52-year-old male patient, who had an unexplained dry cough for three months, went to the hospital for a lot of examinations and found no abnormalities, after the doctor asked his medical history in detail, it was found that the man had a long-term benazepril because of high blood pressure, benazepril belongs to ACE inhibitor antihypertensive drugs, a significant side effect of this type of antihypertensive drugs is that it will cause a dry cough, may have itchy throat, worsen at night, usually not accompanied by phlegm.
On the advice of the doctor, the patient was given other antihypertensive medications, and the dry cough was quickly relieved.
However, some people have questions, doctors, since ACE inhibitor antihypertensive drugs have side effects that cause dry cough, why are they still on the market?
If you only look at the side effects of the drug and ignore the therapeutic effect of the drug, then all the medicine cannot be eaten.
Even if there are side effects of the drug, not everyone will have it, take the dry cough caused by ACE inhibitor antihypertensive drugs as an example, some patients with high blood pressure will have a dry cough after taking it, but some patients with high blood pressure will have no symptoms at all after taking it.
In the mainland, there is 1 patient with high blood pressure in every 4 adults, which is a very scary data, the biggest harm of high blood pressure is to produce complications, and the best way to control high blood pressure is to take antihypertensive drugs.
There are many types of antihypertensive drugs, which are mainly divided into five categories, namely diuretics, β blockers, calcium ion antagonists (CCBs), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs).
They all have antihypertensive effects, but they also all have different side effects, and many patients with high blood pressure will always say, doctor, you prescribe me the best blood pressure medicine, money is not a problem!
However, there is no best for high blood pressure, only the right one.
Once you take antihypertensive drugs, it means that you have to stick to the medicine for a long time, and the side effects of the drug sometimes manifest themselves quickly, but sometimes you have to take it for a long time to find out, so don't think that as long as your blood pressure is well controlled, you also need to closely observe the changes in your body.
If you take antihypertensive drugs for a long time, these 4 phenomena appear in your body, don't take it seriously, and pay attention to high blood pressure.
1. Unexplained fatigue should be paid attention to
Many patients with high blood pressure have unexplained fatigue after taking the drug, and they must pay special attention to it.
The mechanism of diuretics to lower blood pressure is to excrete sodium and water from the body, but some diuretics will also excrete potassium, and some patients feel fatigue, in fact, they have already developed potassium deficiency, and severe potassium deficiency will cause heart abnormalities and even fatal risks.
2. If there is an unexplained dry cough, it should be paid attention to
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) are commonly used to cause dry cough, and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) can also cause dry cough, but the probability is very low.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) cause dry cough by the fact that bradykinin is usually inhibited after taking the drug, and it also inhibits the breakdown of substances involved in the inflammatory response.
3. Unexplained dizziness should be taken seriously
When dizziness occurs in patients with high blood pressure, many people think that the blood pressure must not be well controlled, so they increase the dose of drugs, and as a result, the dizziness is getting worse and worse.
Antihypertensive drugs can lower blood pressure, but some people are more sensitive to antihypertensive drugs, or take a large amount of drugs, or use a combination of several drugs, which may cause blood pressure to drop too low, in fact, blood pressure too high or too low is extremely bad for the body, which may cause dizziness.
Therefore, if a patient with high blood pressure has dizziness, it is necessary to monitor blood pressure more and do not blindly increase the dose of drugs.
4. Unexplained edema of the lower limbs should be paid attention to
Many patients with high blood pressure suddenly develop edema of the lower limbs after taking medication for a long time, so they go to the hospital to do a lot of examinations to find out the cause, which can lead to many reasons for edema of the lower limbs, including heart, liver, kidneys, thyroid, and malnutrition, but if organic diseases are ruled out, it is also necessary to be vigilant against drug-induced edema.
In people who take calcium channel blockers for a long time, there is a possibility that reflex sympathetic activity is enhanced, causing edema of the lower extremities.