zuzu8

Cassiebel,
I can understand anyone's anxiety about meds, but particularly if they've had, like you, a bad experience with one in the past.

This time, you shouldn't worry. There have been many studies on the theoretic and practical advantages of combination therapy of ACEs and ARBs and the conclusion seems to be very encouraging.

This combo may be beneficial for two reasons:

1) ACE inhibitors do not completely inhibit angiotensin II generation, because alternative pathways exist for producing this hormone. The combination of an ACE inhibitor and an ARB should block the renin-angiotensin system more completely.

2) In addition, ACE inhibitors prevent the breakdown of bradykinin and vasodilator prostaglandins. If this is too technical, basically, this is a good thing... Increased kinin activity enhances the antihypertensive effect of ACE inhibitors.


So, bottom line, studies have shown that a combo ACE/ARB often decreases blood pressure more than either drug used alone.

zuzu xxx