✅ Generic Name:
Enalapril Maleate Tablet 5 mg
✅ Prescription Status:
Prescription-only medicine (Rx) – Must be used under the guidance of a healthcare professional.
📄 Description:
Enalapril 5 mg is a long-acting angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor used for treating hypertension, heart failure, and kidney protection in diabetics. It helps relax blood vessels, reduce blood pressure, and ease the workload on the heart.
Each tablet contains 5 mg of Enalapril Maleate (equivalent to 5 mg of enalapril).
🌿 Nature / Class:
- Pharmacologic class: ACE Inhibitor
- Therapeutic class: Antihypertensive, Cardioprotective, Renoprotective
- Mechanism of action: Inhibits the enzyme that converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II → causes vasodilation, reduced aldosterone secretion, and decreased blood pressure
🎯 Purpose / Indications:
- Essential hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Heart failure (symptomatic or asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction)
- Post-myocardial infarction to improve survival
- Diabetic nephropathy and chronic kidney disease (to slow progression of renal impairment)
- Can be used alone or with other antihypertensives
✅ Advantages:
- Effective long-term blood pressure control
- Helps preserve kidney function in diabetes
- Reduces hospitalizations and mortality in heart failure patients
- Improves exercise capacity and symptoms in heart failure
- Allows once- or twice-daily dosing
📦 Common Packaging:
- Available in blister strips or HDPE bottles
- Typically:
- 10 tablets per strip
- Boxes of 30, 50, or 100 tablets
- Tablet color and shape may vary by brand (commonly white, round)
❄️ Storage Conditions:
- Store at 15–30°C (59–86°F)
- Protect from moisture and light
- Keep in original packaging
- Keep out of reach of children
👨⚕️ Patient Advice / Precautions:
- Take once or twice daily, with or without food
- Take at the same time each day
- Do not skip doses or stop suddenly without doctor advice
- Common side effects:
- Dry cough
- Dizziness or lightheadedness, especially after first dose
- Fatigue, nausea
- Serious precautions:
- Risk of high potassium levels (hyperkalemia)
- Risk of angioedema (swelling of face/lips) – discontinue immediately if this occurs
- Monitor renal function and electrolytes regularly
- Avoid potassium-rich foods/supplements unless directed
- Not safe in pregnancy – contraindicated due to risk to fetus
- Caution in renal artery stenosis, severe kidney disease, and hypotension