Kidney failure linked to ACE inhibitor blood pressure pills Popular ACE inhibitor pills have been linked to sudden renal failure The lethal conditions kills up to 30 per cent of those who suffer it Connection was unveiled by a Cambridge University study It found 'strong evidence' that ACE inhibitors and renal failure are linked Risk: A Cambridge University study has linked ACE inhibitors to sudden renal failure Blood pressure drugs that are taken by millions of Britons could raise the risk of potentially deadly kidney problems, doctors fear. A study has linked ACE inhibitors and related pills to sudden renal failure, which is fatal in up to 30 per cent of cases. Researchers at Cambridge University are the first to assess the scale of the problem after concerns about the effects of the medication. At least five millions patients take the tablets, the most popular for high blood pressure, with the number rising each year. The academics compared hospital admissions for sudden kidney failure with prescribing rates for ACE (short for angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors and related pills. These showed that between 2007-08 and 2010-11, there was a 52 per cent rise in admissions and a 16 per cent increase in prescriptions for the drugs. The biggest increases in admissions tended be in patients from GP surgeries which had the largest rise in prescriptions. The researchers said there was "strong evidence" of a link but their project did not prove the drugs were to blame. They stressed that no patients should stop taking their tablets unless advised to do so by their doctor. However, safer prescribing of the drugs could cut kidney disease, and save money and lives, added the study. The academics calculated that 1,636 hospital admissions in the study period could have been avoided if prescriptions had stayed at 2007-08 levels. Kidney doctor Laurie Tomlinson, who co-wrote the report in the journal PLOS ONE, said some patients were anxious about the drugs. "I have looked after many with acute kidney injury who were taking these medications prior to becoming unwell and have often worried the drugs were doing more harm than good," she said. Lethal: Renal failure is fata in up to 30 per cent of ases It is thought that the drugs make it more difficult for the kidneys to cope when a stomach bug causes diarrhoea or vomiting. A urine or chest infection may also cause problems. Lead author Dr Rupert Payne advised patients who get a bug to see their GP, who may give them blood tests and temporarily stop their tablets. "We are not saying these drugs are dangerous, that would be inappropriate, because there is clearly evidence they are very helpful to patients," he said. Dr Rebecca Sucking, a kidney specialist and adviser to charity Blood Pressure UK, said "overall the benefits outweigh the risks." She added that many trials had shown the drugs "increase survival and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes." The ACE inhibitors and related pills are given to heart attack patients, diabetics and otherwise healthy people whose high blood pressure puts them at risk of cardiac attacks and strokes. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said the drugs are highly effective and kidney problems are a recognised side-effect.