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ACETEC lowers high blood pressure, which doctors call hypertension. It is also used
to treat heart failure.
Hypertension:
Everyone has blood pressure. This pressure helps get your blood all around your body.
Your blood pressure may be different at different times of the day, depending on how
busy or worried you are. You have hypertension (high blood pressure) when your blood
pressure stays higher than is needed, even when you are calm and relaxed.
There are usually no symptoms of hypertension. The only way of knowing that you have
hypertension is to have your blood pressure checked on a regular basis. If high blood
pressure is not treated it can lead to serious health problems. You may feel fine
and have no symptoms, but eventually hypertension can cause stroke, heart disease
and kidney failure. ACETEC helps to lower your blood pressure.
Heart Failure:
Heart failure means that the heart muscle cannot pump blood strongly enough to supply
all the blood needed throughout the body. Heart failure is not the same as heart attack
and does not mean that the heart stops working. Heart failure may start off with no
symptoms, but as the condition progresses, patients may feel short of breath or may
get tired easily after light physical activity such as walking. Some patients may
wake up short of breath at night. Fluid may collect in different parts of the body,
often first noticed as swollen ankles and feet.
ACETEC helps to treat heart failure, whether you have symptoms or not. In many patients
with heart failure who have symptoms, ACETEC may slow the progression of heart failure
and reduce the need to go to hospital as a result of heart failure. ACETEC may help
some of these patients live longer.
In many patients with heart failure who have no symptoms, ACETEC may help to stop
the heart muscle from getting weaker. ACETEC may also slow down the development of
symptoms, such as shortness of breath, tiredness after light physical activity, or
swelling of the ankles and feet. These patients may be less likely to have hospital
stays due to heart failure.
By taking ACETEC, heart failure patients may have less chance of having a heart attack.
When used to treat heart failure, ACETEC is almost always used with other medicines
called diuretics or fluid tablets. These medicines help the kidney get rid of excess
fluid from the body.
How ACETEC works
One of the ways ACETEC helps lower blood pressure and treat heart failure is that
it widens blood vessels. This means that blood is able to pass through them more easily
and the heart doesn't have to pump as hard to move blood around the body. This also
means that when you place extra demands on your heart, such as during exercise, the
heart may cope better so you may not get short of breath as easily.
ACETEC belongs to a group of medicines called Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE)
inhibitors.
Your doctor may prescribe ACETEC for another reason. Ask your doctor if you have any
questions about why ACETEC has been prescribed for you.
ACETEC is not addictive.
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