How does Enalapril + Hydrochlorothiazide (generic Vaseretic) treat?
Vaseretic is a combination of Enalapril and Hydrochlorothiazide. Enalapril blocks the action of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). Thus Enalapril reduces the amount of angiotensin in the blood. Angiotensin has two actions. Firstly it acts on blood vessels to make them narrow and secondly it acts on the kidney to produce less urine. As Enalapril stops the production of angiotensin, these actions are reversed. Therefore the kidneys produce more urine, which results in less fluid in the blood vessels. The blood vessels also widen. The overall effect of this is a drop in blood pressure and a decrease in the workload of the heart. Hydrochlorothiazide acts in the kidney to remove water from the blood into the urine, by causing an increase in the removal of salts such as potassium and sodium from the blood. This removal of salts causes water to be drawn out of the blood and into the kidneys, where it is then excreted in the urine. Removing water from the blood decreases the volume of fl
