Health Centres - Lopace (ramipril)
How does it work?
Lopace capsules contain the active ingredient ramipril, which is a type of medicine called an ACE inhibitor. (NB. Ramipril is also available without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.)
ACE inhibitors work by blocking the action of a compound in the body called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Normally ACE produces another compound called angiotensin II, as part of the body's natural control of blood pressure. Angiotensin II causes blood vessels to constrict and narrow, which increases the pressure within the blood vessels.
As ramipril blocks the action of ACE, it reduces the production of angiotensin II. This means that the blood vessels are allowed to relax and widen. The overall effect of this is a drop in blood pressure, hence ramipril can be used to lower high blood pressure.
The reduced pressure within the blood vessels means that the heart doesn't have to work as hard to pump the blood around the body. This means that ACE inhibitors such as ramipril can be used to improve the symptoms of heart failure, where the heart is not pumping as efficiently as it should be. Ramipril has also been shown to improve survival in people who are diagnosed with heart failure after suffering a heart attack. Ramipril is usually used in combination with a diuretic medicine to treat heart failure.
Ramipril has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and the need for surgical procedures to improve blood supply to the heart (revascularistion) in various groups of people who are at risk of these problems.
What is it used for?
- Mild to moderate high blood pressure
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Heart failure
- Improving survival in people with heart failure after suffering a heart attack
- Reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, the need for surgery to improve blood supply to the heart (revascularisation) and death due to heart disease, in people aged 55 years or over with any of the following conditions:
evidence of existing heart disease, for example, a previous heart attack, angina not well controlled by medical treatment (unstable angina), or a previous surgical procedure to improve blood supply to the heart, ie multiple heart bypass (coronary artery bypass graft, CABG), or balloon dilation of multiple blood vessels (percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, PTCA)
- history of stroke
- poor blood circulation in the hands or feet due to hardening of the arteries (peripheral vascular disease)
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diabetes plus one or more of the following risk factors: high blood pressure , high total cholesterol levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, smoking, evidence of previous blood vessel disease, or protein in the urine (microalbuminuria - the beginning of diabetic kidney disease).
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