Accupril Side Effects

Most people tolerate Accupril well. For people with high blood pressure, common Accupril side effects can include dizziness, headache, and fatigue. Some common side effects of Accupril for people with congestive heart failure include chest pain, extremely low blood pressure, and a cough. There are also a number of Accupril side effects that you should report to your doctor immediately, such as difficulty breathing or swallowing, unexplained swelling of the head or neck, and decreases in the amount of urine produced.

 

An Introduction to Accupril Side Effects

As with any medicine, there are possible side effects with Accupril® (quinapril hydrochloride); but not everyone who takes Accupril will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate Accupril well. When people do develop Accupril side effects, in many cases they are minor, meaning they require no treatment or are easily treated by you or your healthcare provider.
 
About 5 percent of people with high blood pressure and about 7 percent of people with congestive heart failure stop taking Accupril because of side effects.
 
(The Accupril side effects discussed below are not a complete list of side effects reported with Accupril. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of Accupril side effects with you.)
 

Common Accupril Side Effects

Accupril has been studied extensively in clinical trials, with thousands of people worldwide having been evaluated.
 In these studies, side effects are always documented and compared to side effects that occur in a similar group of people not taking the medicine.
 
Based on these studies, the most common Accupril side effects seen in people with high blood pressure include:
 
  • Headache -- up to 5.6 percent
  • Dizziness -- up to 3.9 percent
  • Fatigue -- up to 2.6 percent
  • Cough -- up to 2 percent (see Accupril Cough).
     
In people with congestive heart failure, the most common side effects include:
 
  • Dizziness -- up to 7.7 percent
  • Cough -- up to 4.3 percent
  • Extremely low blood pressure – up to 2.9 percent
  • Fatigue -- up to 2.6 percent
  • Chest pain -- up to 2.4 percent.
     
Other side effects with Accupril, occurring in more than 1 percent of people with high blood pressure or heart failure, include but are not limited to:
 
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Stomach pain
  • Shortness of breath
  • Unexplained rash
  • Diarrhea.
     
(Accupril Side Effects Continued: Page 2)
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;