Ok, so I’m 31 and have been told I have moderate essential hypertension – with no underlying cause. I’m very fit, eat healthily and don’t drink much or smoke. I’ve been prescribed a low dose (2mg) of an ACE inhibitor (see thread title), which is supposed to control my BP.

Initially, I was thinking this would be a good thing – a lower BP will place less strain on my heart, surely? So if anything I may actually feel fitter and could even end up riding faster! 😆

But then.. looking at some of the potential side effects (of which ‘fatigue’ and ‘dizziness’ are included), I’m thinking it could possibly have a detrimental effect on my performance?

I’m due to be competing in a 24hr race later this month (in Aus) and am wondering whether:

a) It is sensible to race / push myself hard in training
b) The drugs will detrimentaly affect my performance in some way

Any advice on this would be gratefully received!

Erm… not meaning to be an arse…. but your asking on a biking forum for medication advice? Go back to your GP! or at least a pharmacist!

Erm.. yes Dr_A, fair point, but I’m living in Aus, and seeing a GP costs money. My next follow-up appointment is not now for 3 weeks. I thought I’d ask around here in the meantime, not for any specialist medical advice – as such – but more for any potential forum members’ personal experiences of using this drug and how or if it ever affected their cycling..

… as for pharmacists? They may be well versed in the ins and outs of pharmacology, including the more ‘typical’ side-effects of various drugs – for ‘typical’ (i.e. relatively inactive) people, but as for their insight on the possible side-effects of this drug on physiological performance? I’m rather doubtful.

I’m just wondering – for example – if I get a day when I feel dead and tired while cycling, is it possible that this is due to the drug, or will it be because I’m genuinely tired? Will such a side-effect last for as long as I keep taking this drug, or will it just be a temporary thing until my body gets used to it?

If anyone has any insight on this or any other aspect of using this type of drug I’d be grateful.

Personally I’d expect a pharmacist to know a heck of a lot more about medication than any Dr. Perhaps you’re getting mixed up with a pharmacologist?

ACEi are vasodilators – they expand your arteries a little to reduce the pressure. I can’t think of a single reason why they would affect exercise tolerance as, say, a beta blocker could do.

Any drug that affects blood pressure will have dizziness and fatigue listed as side effects, mainly because of the risk of a postural BP drop i.e. your blood pressure drops when you stand up because there is less vessel pressure to maintain it.

If you’re side-effect free at rest you’ll probably be fine on a bike.

You’ll have a dry cough for a few weeks and will almost certainly get a nsety headache after the first few doses but both of these tend to disappear quite quickly.