Expert: Dr Alan Galbraith - 9/28/2004

Question
My husband takes Norvasc for high blood pressure. He has had a chronic cough for eight months and is very fatigued at the least bit of work, such as washing a car. He has had a chest x-ray and it was fine. They suspected that it might be acid reflux but Previced did nothing. My question is, can the Norvasc he is taking cause these symtoms?

Answer
Dear Cathryn

Some drugs used in HBP can cause cough but I would suspect that Norvasc is not the cause here. I assume he does not or has never smoked, I always think of smoking as being one of the main causes of coughing. The cough definitely needs further investigation but there is a very remote possibility that it is the Norvasc. Norvasc can rarely, cause pulmonary oedema (excess fluid in the lungs) which can lead to a cough. This again may need further investigation as it may not show on a routine chest X-ray.

The fatigue though, could very possibly be due to the Norvasc. If this is really a problem maybe a change to another class of antihypertensives is needed such as losartan (which does not cause a cough.

Regards

Dr Alan Galbraith