Altace Side Effects

For people taking Altace for high blood pressure, common side effects include: headache, cough, and dizziness. Altace side effects occuring in more than 1 percent of people taking the drug for congestive heart failure include: low blood pressure chest pain, and nausea. In previous research studies, up to 4 percent of people stopped taking Altace because of side effects.

 

Altace Side Effects: An Introduction

As with any medicine, there are possible side effects with Altace® (ramipril). Yet, not everyone who takes Altace will experience side effects. In fact, most people tolerate it well. When Altace side effects do occur, they are usually minor and either require no treatment or can be easily treated by you or your healthcare provider. Serious side effects are less common.
 
Altace has been studied in a number of groups of people with different conditions. Because the groups were so different, the side effects are broken down by group. These groups include people with:
 
(This article covers many, but not all, of the possible side effects with Altace. Your healthcare provider can discuss a more complete list of Altace side effects with you.)
 

Common Side Effects of Altace When Used for High Blood Pressure

Altace has been studied thoroughly in clinical trials.
 In these studies, side effects occurring in a group of people taking the drug are documented and compared to those that occur in another group not taking the medicine. This way, it is possible to see what side effects occur, how often they appear, and how they compare to the group not taking the medicine.
 
Based on these studies, the most common side effects of Altace in people with high blood pressure (occurring in more than 1 percent of people) included:
  
  • Cough -- up to 12 percent (see Altace Cough)
  • Headache –- up to 5.4 percent
  • Dizziness –- up to 2.2 percent
  • Fatigue –- up to 2 percent
  • Body weakness (asthenia).
 
If side effects do occur, most people do not need to stop their medicine intake. In previous research studies, up to 4 percent of people stopped taking Altace because of side effects. The most common reasons were cough, dizziness, and impotence (erectile dysfunction, or ED).
 
(Altace Side Effects Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;