How to use Captopril

As people's living standards improve, the number of people suffering from hypertension is increasing year by year. There are many types of antihypertensive drugs on the market. Today we will mainly talk about one of them - Captopril.

Captopril is the most commonly used and effective first-line antihypertensive drug. It can be used alone as the first choice drug for antihypertensive treatment.

1. How to use Captopril?

It depends on the condition or individual differences.

The initial treatment dose is 12.5 mg orally once, 2-3 times a day; if the effect is not satisfactory after 1-2 weeks, it can be increased to 50 mg once, 2-3 times a day. Usually no more than 50 mg once, three times a day. If the effect is still unsatisfactory, other antihypertensive drugs can be added for combined treatment.

2. Is there any drug resistance to this type of antihypertensive drug?

No!

There is no drug resistance to antihypertensive drugs. Most patients' blood pressure rises again after stopping the drug, not because they have become dependent on the antihypertensive drug, but because once you have high blood pressure, you basically need to take the drug for life, and as you age, the blood pressure of most patients will gradually rise. Therefore, not only can you not stop the drug, but you may also need to gradually increase the dosage or add new antihypertensive drugs.

3. I often cough in the middle of the night after taking the medicine. What is the reason?

This type of drug is an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, which can cause dry cough. If you have no chronic cough or history of respiratory tract infection before taking the drug, and you have paroxysmal dry cough (mostly at night) after taking the drug, and the dry cough is significantly reduced or disappears after stopping the drug, it can basically be considered that it is caused by taking this type of drug. If the symptoms are mild, you do not need to stop taking it. If the cough is severe, you can consult a doctor to switch to other types of antihypertensive drugs.

4. Can I take the medicine later if I forget to take it?

This type of medicine is a long-acting antihypertensive drug. If you miss a dose, you do not need to make up for it. You can take it normally when you need to take it the next time. You cannot take two doses at once just because you missed a dose.

5. What are the advantages of this type of drug compared with other antihypertensive drugs?

1. This type of drug has no rapid tolerance; has cardioprotective and renal protective effects; does not affect heart rate and cardiac output; has no central nervous system effects; does not affect sexual function; improves sleep and mood;

2. Captopril can also alleviate the patient's tolerance to nitroglycerin and reduce systolic pressure more than diastolic pressure. It is suitable for the elderly but not for young people.

6. Are there any adverse reactions?

Adverse reactions of this type of drug are mostly rash, drug fever, cough, abnormal taste, granulocytopenia, constipation, hypotension, etc. Usually, they can be relieved by themselves after stopping the drug. If serious adverse reactions occur, you should seek medical attention in time;

It can cause hyperkalemia, so it should be avoided if possible with potassium-sparing diuretics and other drugs that increase blood potassium;

It may cause harm or death to the developing fetus, so this product should be discontinued immediately if pregnancy is discovered.

There is also a risk of angioedema, so seek medical attention immediately if you discover it.