Blood Pressure Medications and Coughing

 
It's an extremely annoying chronic cough because you can't figure out why you have it. All of a sudden it just shows up one day and it won't go away. This persistent coughing disturbs your sleep and interferes with your meals. The usual cough remedies don't work. Anti-bacterial medications have no effect, and neither do over-the-counter medicines. You don't get relief from home cough remedies either. 

Most maddening of all...you go to a doctor and your he or she can't see any signs of a throat infection or inflammation.

This cough has many of the characterics of a so-called "smokers cough," but even even people who have never smoked can get it.

What is it?

Well, if you have a cough that fits the description above, and you also have hypertension or high blood pressure, you may be experiencing a little-known side effect of your blood pressure medication.

The so called ACE inhibitors, or common hypertension or blood pressure drugs, may cause a chronic, persistent cough. Sometimes people who are taking ACE inhibitors say their throat even feels slightly raw and sensitive to touch.

Blood pressure medications have long been known to cause a number of other side effects like hair loss and loss of taste.

Common blood pressure medications include prescription medicines like captopril (Capoten), enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Zestril or Prinivil)

Anyone suffering from a chronic dry cough should investigate other blood pressure medications. But doctors are also quick to point out that anyone taking blood pressure medicine shouldn't stop abruptly. The persistent coughing may be annoying, but it is probably not nearly as much of a threat to long term health as high blood pressure.