What is an "ACE inhibitor"?

What is an "ACE inhibitor"?

Rose Marie Robertson, MD, FAHA, FACC, FESC (Chief Science Officer and Past President of the Board of American Heart Association) gives expert video advice on: How soon will I start to feel better after taking heart medication? and more...

ACE inhibitors are medications that we use to control blood pressure in many patients, and they act on what's called the Renin-Angiotension system. That's a system, in the body, of chemicals that act together to raise blood pressure and to constrict blood vessels. Sometimes we need those chemicals there, but in the case of patients with coronary heart disease and with heart failure, in fact, we need to inhibit the ability of those chemicals to be formed in greater quantities, and ACE inhibitors prevent those chemicals from acting to vasoconstrict, or shrink, the blood vessels, raise the blood pressure, and make it harder for the heart to work. We know from a number of clinical trials that they are important to prolonging life in people with coronary heart disease.