Questions posted in the Heart Forum have been answered by doctors from The Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Question Title: Vasotec and cholesterol

Forum: The Heart Forum
Topic: Cardiomyopathy


I am a 39 year old male who 10 years ago developed cardiomyoathy with AI.
At the time, ten years ago, I had an eff of about 20% which improved over
a several year period to a 65%. But about five years ago a murmur was
detected in the aortic vavle. The result was that over teh next few years
the eff started droppping until the valve went out and had to be replaced
along with part of the aortic root, due to dialation. About 6 weeks after
the surgery I went into Vtec(?) and the heart eff dropped to about 19%.
By the end of the year the eff had risen to 30% and has stayed there for
the last couple of years. My question, and sorry about so much detail, is
both times that I have been put on relatively high doses of Vesotec by
cholesterol has risen. Is there a correlation between this and the Vesotec.
Or is possible that a combination of meds is causing this. I am currently
taking Vasotec 20mg 2/day, lanoxin 0.25mg 1/day, Cordorane 100mg/day,
coumadin 6mg/day.

Dear Terry, thank you for your question. I did an computerized search of the
medical literature and I found that medications like vasotec (called ACE inhibitors)
actually lower cholesterol levels and prevent atherosclerosis from developing.
There was one small clinical trial that followed patients sequentially on an
ACE inhibitor, and documented lowered total and LDL cholesterol levels over time
and increased HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol). Additionally, there have
been many animal studies that have demonstrated that animals fed high fat, high
cholesterol diets had a reduction in atherosclerotic plaque build-up when given
ACE inhibitors. Thus, I don't think the vasotec has caused your cholesterol to
increase. Additionally, lanoxin, coumadin, and cordarone are not known to cause
increased cholesterol levels. Thus, I suggest that you speak to your physician
to determine if your diet may possibly be a cause to see if there are any other
possiblities. I hope you find this information useful.

Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Specific
diagnoses and therapies can only be provided by your physician.

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