Cause of coughing in conjunction with an enlarged heart

Thank you for your reply of 07 Sept 99
My Question which was cut off was ....
My Husband has an enlarged heart and requires a transplant.  He is on captopril 25mg 3x per day and furosemide 40 mg 2 in the AM and 1 at noon for water retention. Are either of these ACE inhibitors?  The water retention is very severe with his ankles, legs, buttocks, abdomen and midrift being very swollen.  is this medication sufficient for the water? Can Acupunture help this and is there other medications available to assist?
To compound this he cannot sleep at night because of 2 types of cough which persist each night...  1. A dry racking cough which causes his heart to race with obvious loss of breath and exhaustion and 2. a retching cough caused by the fluid in his lungs which result in him choking and almost passing out.  Oxygen does not help either of these coughs.  Have any of your doctors had experience in this and if so can you make any suggestions.
Many thanks
Win

[CCF CARDIO MD - DLB]

Captopril is an ACE inhibitor that has been in use for quite a while. The dry cough may be as a side effect of the ACE inhibitor, If this is the case there is a similar class of medications that help heart failure without causing the side effect of cough. I do not think acupuncture would help, but there are other medications that cause water loss. There are also medicines that help the heart beat stronger. Your husband should be treated and followed in a heart failure clinic.