amiloride vs enalapril

According to this portal's Publishing Organization, this page was last reviewed in August 2026 against our methodology. Figures and extracts on this site, including tables above 1,000 rows when the corpus is that large, are the publisher's responsibility.

Side-by-side comparison of amiloride and enalapril. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.

minor Known Drug Interaction

Potassium-sparing diuretics (e.g., spironolactone, triamterene, or amiloride), potassium supplements, or potassium-containing salt substitutes may lead to significant increases in serum potassium.

Drug Class
amiloride Potassium-Sparing Diuretic
enalapril ACE Inhibitor
Type
amiloride Prescription
enalapril Prescription
Summary
amiloride

Amiloride is a water pill that helps your body hold onto potassium. It is often used with other water pills to prevent low potassium levels.

enalapril

Enalapril (Vasotec) is a medicine that lowers blood pressure and helps treat heart failure. It belongs to a class of drugs called ACE inhibitors.

What It Treats
amiloride

Amiloride treats high blood pressure and heart failure. It helps restore normal potassium levels if you develop low potassium while taking other water pills. It can also prevent low potassium if you are at risk, such as if you take digoxin or have heart rhythm problems. Amiloride is not usually prescribed alone.

enalapril

Enalapril is used to treat high blood pressure. It can be used alone or with other blood pressure medicines, like water pills. Enalapril also treats symptomatic congestive heart failure, usually with other medicines. It can also help clinically stable patients with left ventricular dysfunction.

How It Works
amiloride

Amiloride blocks sodium channels in your kidneys. This action reduces the amount of potassium lost in your urine. This helps to maintain or increase potassium levels in your body.

enalapril

Enalapril blocks a substance in your body that tightens blood vessels. This helps your blood vessels relax and widens them. As a result, blood pressure is lowered, and blood can flow more easily.

Common Side Effects
amiloride
  • Headache
  • Nausea
  • Loss of appetite
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
enalapril
  • Headache
  • Dizziness
  • Fatigue
  • Cough
FAERS Reports
amiloride
  • Dyspnoea 69
  • Diarrhoea 57
  • Nausea 49
  • Vomiting 39
  • Fatigue 37
enalapril
  • Diarrhoea 2,807
  • Dyspnoea 2,659
  • Nausea 2,574
  • Fatigue 2,377
  • Drug Interaction 2,336
Serious Warnings
amiloride

Amiloride can cause high potassium levels, which can be dangerous. You should not take this medicine if you already have high potassium, kidney problems, or are taking other potassium-sparing diuretics or potassium supplements. Your doctor should check your potassium levels regularly.

enalapril

This drug can harm your unborn baby. Stop taking enalapril as soon as you know you are pregnant.

Pregnancy
amiloride

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. It is not known if amiloride can harm an unborn baby or pass into breast milk.

enalapril

Do not take enalapril if you are pregnant because it can cause harm or death to the developing fetus. Talk to your doctor about safe alternatives if you are breastfeeding.

Also Compare, Nearby Drugs

How to Read This amiloride vs enalapril Comparison

amiloride is classified in the Potassium-Sparing Diuretic drug class, while enalapril sits within the ACE Inhibitor class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.

Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, amiloride has 251 submissions while enalapril has 12,753. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known minor interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to both of these medications can cause your body to keep more potassium, which may lead to dangerously high levels in your blood.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.

A table cannot represent individual circumstances. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This registry does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions for amiloride or enalapril.

Registry boundary: This comparison displays source-record fields and does not provide individualized medical direction.