Enalapril
- Class: ACE inhibitor
- Used for: high blood pressure
- Say it: eh-NAL-uh-pril
- Forms: tablet, oral liquid, injection
Mnemonic: Another -PRIL, the same cough
Mechanistically interchangeable with lisinopril; the differences are practical. Enalapril is a prodrug the liver has to activate, and it is usually taken twice a day.
Mechanistically interchangeable with lisinopril; the differences are practical. Enalapril is a prodrug the liver has to activate, and it is usually taken twice a day.
Suffix -PRIL: Every -PRIL blocks ACE — and brings the cough with it.
The stem marks an ACE inhibitor: less angiotensin II is made, so vessels relax and the kidney is protected. Blocking ACE also lets bradykinin build up, which is why a dry tickly cough is the classic reason to switch to a -sartan. All drug suffixes ›
The stem marks an ACE inhibitor: less angiotensin II is made, so vessels relax and the kidney is protected. Blocking ACE also lets bradykinin build up, which is why a dry tickly cough is the classic reason to switch to a -sartan. All drug suffixes ›
Side effects
Common: dry cough, dizziness, high potassium
Serious: angioedema, kidney injury
Typical dose
5–20 mg once or twice daily
Start at 2.5 mg. Same monitoring as any ACE inhibitor.
Check yourself
A patient's ACE-inhibitor cough persists after switching from lisinopril to enalapril. Why?
- The cough is a class effect of blocking ACE
- The new dose was too high
- Enalapril causes the cough more often than lisinopril
- The cough was never related to the drug
Show answer
A. The cough is a class effect of blocking ACE
Up to one patient in ten gets it, and it is driven by bradykinin build-up rather than by any one molecule. Switching inside the class simply repeats the experiment.
See it, don't memorize it
The app has the mechanism comic and a patient case for Enalapril – plus the name link, the class mnemonic, pronunciation you can hear, and a self-check, for the top 100 drugs. One purchase, no subscription, no account.