About 5% to 10% of patients taking an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) for high blood pressure get a cough. It usually occurs in the first 1-2 weeks of treatment, but may be delayed up to 6 months. The cough is mild, without phlegm, and harmless, but continues so persistently that you’d go nuts continuing the medication. After stopping the drug, all’s better within a week.
ACE-I’s include lisinopril, benazepril, enalapril, ramipril, captopril, accupril, and many others [ending “-pril”]. A similar type of medication called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) can be substituted with equal blood pressure control & almost never a cough. ARBs include losartan, alasartan, telmisartan, etc. [ending “-artan”].