More than six million people are prescribed this drug in some form across the UK.
Blood pressure explained by the British Heart Foundation
A shortage warning has been issued to anyone taking the country’s most-prescribed blood pressure drug. Ramipril 1.25mg capsules are still in short supply across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to MediWatch’s review on August 4, labelling it a “serious shortage”.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) issued a Serious Shortage Protocol on April 22 and extended it beyond May 29, which limits community pharmacies to dispensing a maximum of one month’s supply per prescription, even for people who usually have prescriptions for two or three months.
Urgent warning issued to anyone taking common blood pressure medication (Image: Getty)
Since this protocol is not the patient’s fault, they will not be subject to extra prescription charges when supplied under this protocol, if they usually get three months at a time.
Ramipril 1.25mg and 2.5mg tablets, plus the oral solution, remain available, but the DHSC warned they cannot meet increased demand if all capsule patients switch to these forms.
If you take 1.25mg capsules, MediWatch advised contacting your pharmacist about tablet alternatives now, before their stock runs low.
A recall was also issued on April 20 for one batch of Ramipril 10mg capsules, manufactured by Crescent Pharma, due to a packaging error, because some cartons contained 5mg blister strips instead of 10mg. While this is a safety issue rather than a supply one, it still adds pressure to the overall Ramipril supply chain.
Ramipril is taken by roughly six million people in the UK, and it is among the top 10 most-prescribed medications overall, meaning the implications are far-reaching.
An ACE inhibitor, your liver converts it into an active molecule so it becomes active once you swallow it, which is why it takes a short while to take full effect.
While the family of medicines all work in a similar way, Ramipril is often prescribed because it stays in the body longer and can be taken once daily.