Common questions about lisinopril

Lisinopril is a type of medicine called an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor.

Like other ACE inhibitors, lisinopril relaxes and widens the blood vessels. This lowers your blood pressure and makes it easier for your heart to pump blood around your body. This can improve the symptoms of heart failure.

In diabetic kidney disease, it helps to protect your kidneys and slows down the disease. It does this by reducing the amount of protein you lose through your kidneys and by reducing high blood pressure.

Lisinopril starts to work within a few hours to reduce high blood pressure, but it may take a few weeks for it to take full effect.

If you're taking lisinopril for heart failure, it may take weeks, even months, before you feel better.

If you're taking lisinopril for high blood pressure or after a heart attack, you may not have any symptoms. In these cases, you may not feel any different when you take lisinopril. This does not mean that the medicine is not working. It's important to keep taking it.

Lisinopril is generally safe to take for a long time. In fact, it works best when you take it for a long time.

But taking lisinopril for a long time can sometimes cause your kidneys not to work as well as they should.

Your doctor will check how well your kidneys are working with regular blood tests.

Talk to your doctor if you want to stop taking lisinopril.

Stopping lisinopril may cause your blood pressure to rise. This can increase your chances of having a heart attack or stroke.

If you're bothered by side effects, your doctor may be able to prescribe you a different medicine.

Even if lisinopril has successfully lowered your blood pressure, it's best to carry on taking it.

If you stop taking lisinopril, your blood pressure could rise back up again.

If you need blood pressure-lowering medicines, you'll probably need to take them for the rest of your life.

Remember, by keeping your blood pressure low, you're protecting yourself against having a heart attack or stroke in the future.

There are lots of other angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor medicines that work in the same way as lisinopril. They include enalapril, captopril, ramipril and perindopril.

There are also lots of other types of blood pressure-lowering medicines:

• calcium channel blockers like amlodipine
• angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) like candesartan
• beta blockers like bisoprolol
• medicines that make you pee more (diuretics) like bendroflumethiazide

If you cannot take lisinopril or other ACE inhibitor medicines because of side effects such as a dry cough, you may be able to switch to another type of medicine to lower your blood pressure.

This will usually be a medicine called an angiotensin receptor blocker, such as candesartan, irbesartan, losartan or valsartan.

Lisinopril works as well as other ACE inhibitors when you take it to lower blood pressure and for heart failure.

The side effects are also similar to those of other ACE inhibitors.

You only need to take lisinopril once a day. Some other ACE inhibitors need to be taken 3 times a day.

Tell your doctor that you're taking lisinopril if you're going to have a general anaesthetic for an operation or you're going to have a major operation, such as a caesarean section, without a general anaesthetic.

Lisinopril can reduce your blood pressure when it's used with an anaesthetic.

Your doctor may advise you to stop taking it 24 hours before surgery.

No, there's no evidence that lisinopril is addictive.

Lisinopril will not affect any type of contraception.

But some types of hormonal methods of contraception, such as the combined pill, progestogen-only pill and contraceptive patch, are not usually recommended if you have high blood pressure.

Talk to your doctor if you're taking or using a combined hormonal contraceptive.

If lisinopril makes you sick (vomit) or have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy. Look on the pill packet to find out what to do.

Find out more:

• What to do if you're sick or have diarrhoea when taking the combined pill
• What to do if you're sick or have diarrhoea when taking the progestogen-only pill

Lisinopril can cause blurred vision and make some people feel dizzy or tired, especially when you first start taking it or after an increase in dose.

If this happens to you, do not drive a car, ride a bike, or use tools or machinery.

It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected. It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure whether it's safe for you to drive while taking lisinopril. GOV.UK has more information on the law on drugs and driving.

Drinking alcohol can increase the blood pressure-lowering effect of lisinopril, which can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded.

During the first few days of taking lisinopril or after increasing the dose, stop drinking alcohol until you see how the medicine affects you.

If lisinopril makes you feel dizzy, it's best to stop drinking alcohol while you're taking it.

Do not use salt substitutes such as Lo-Salt. This is because they're high in potassium. When mixed with lisinopril, they may make the level of potassium in your blood too high.

There's nothing else you need to avoid while taking lisinopril.

Eating well by having a healthy, balanced diet can help if you have high blood pressure or heart failure.

You can boost the health of your heart by making some key lifestyle changes.

These will also help if you have high blood pressure or heart failure.

• Quit smoking – smoking increases your heart rate and blood pressure. Quitting smoking brings down your blood pressure and relieves heart failure symptoms. Try to avoid secondhand smoke, too.
• Cut down on alcohol – drinking too much alcohol raises blood pressure over time. It makes heart failure worse, too. Try to keep to the recommended guidelines of no more than 14 units of alcohol a week. A standard glass of wine (175ml) is 2 units. A pint of lager or beer is usually 2 to 3 units of alcohol.
• Exercise – regular exercise lowers blood pressure by keeping your heart and blood vessels in good condition. It does not need to be too energetic, walking every day will help.
• Eat well – aim to eat a diet that includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, and lean proteins. It's a good idea to follow these tips for a lower salt diet, too. Eating too much salt is the biggest cause of high blood pressure. The more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure will be. Aim for no more than 6g of salt a day.
• Deal with stress – when you're anxious or upset, your heart beats faster, you breathe more heavily and your blood pressure often goes up. This can also make heart failure worse. Find ways to reduce stress in your life. To give your heart a rest, try napping or putting your feet up when possible. Spend time with friends and family to be social and help keep stress at bay.
• Vaccinations – if you have heart failure, it's recommended that you have the flu vaccine every year and the pneumococcal vaccine as recommended by your GP. Ask your doctor about these vaccinations. You can have them free on the NHS. Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination is recommended for most people. Make sure you've had all the doses that you are eligible for. Talk to your doctor if you think you might be in one of the at risk groups.