Question

Give the function for each type of medication and indicate when it would be used: thrombolytics, statins, blood thinners, vasodilators, diuretics, ACE inhibitors, alpha and beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, nitroglycerin, anticoagulants, antiplatelets, digitalis/digoxin

Answer 1

1. THROMBOLYTICS

Thrombolysis also knew as thrombolytic therapy is a treatment to dissolve dangerous clots in blood vessels, improve blood flow, and prevent damage to tissues and organs.

• Thrombolysis is often used as an emergency treatment to dissolve blood clots that form in arteries feeding the heart and brain the main cause of heart attacks and ischemic strokes and in the arteries of the lungs (acute pulmonary embolism).
• Veins that cause deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or clots in the legs, pelvic area, and upper extremities; if left untreated, pieces of the clot can break off and travel to an artery in the lungs, resulting in an acute pulmonary embolism.
• Bypass grafts.
• Dialysis catheters.

2. STATINS

"Statins" is a class of drugs that lowers the level of cholesterol in the blood by reducing the production of cholesterol by the liver.

Statins are used for preventing and treating atherosclerosis that causes chest pain, heart attacks, strokes, and intermittent claudication in individuals who have or are at risk for atherosclerosis. Statins may be recommended if you have cardiovascular disease (CVD) or a high risk of developing it in the next 10 years.

• coronary heart disease – when the blood supply to the heart becomes restricted as a result of the hardening and narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis).
• angina – chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart muscles.
• heart attacks – when the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked.
• strokes and transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) – when the supply of blood to the brain becomes blocked or disrupted.
• peripheral arterial disease (PAD) – when a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries restricts blood supply to the limbs.

3. BLOOD THINNERS

Blood thinners are medicines that help blood flow smoothly through your veins and arteries. They also keep blood clots from forming or getting bigger.

They are used to treat some types of heart disease and heart defects, and other conditions that could raise your risk of getting dangerous clots. They can protect against heart attacks and strokes.

4. VASODILATORS

Vasodilators are medications that open (dilate) blood vessels. They affect the muscles in the walls of your arteries and veins, preventing the muscles from tightening and the walls from narrowing.

Vasodilators are used to prevent, treat or improve symptoms in a variety of conditions, such as:

• High blood pressure.
• High blood pressure during pregnancy or childbirth (preeclampsia or eclampsia).
• Heart failure.
• High blood pressure that affects the arteries in your lungs (pulmonary hypertension).

5. DIURETICS

Diuretics, sometimes called water pills, help rid your body of salt (sodium) and water. Most of them help your kidneys release more sodium into your urine. The sodium takes with it water from your blood, decreasing the amount of fluid flowing through your veins and arteries. Diurectics are used to prevent, treat or improve symptoms in a variety of conditions, such as:

• Heart failure.
• Liver failure.
• Tissue swelling (edema)
• Certain kidney disorders, such as kidney stones.
• Hypertension

6. ACE INHIBITORS

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors help relax your veins and arteries to lower your blood pressure. ACE inhibitors prevent an enzyme in your body from producing angiotensin II, a substance that narrows your blood vessels. This narrowing can cause high blood pressure and force your heart to work harder. Angiotensin II also releases hormones that raise your blood pressure. ACE inhibitors are used to prevent, treat or improve symptoms in a variety of conditions, such as:

• Coronary artery disease
• Heart failure
• Diabetes
• Certain chronic kidney diseases
• Heart attacks
• Scleroderma — a disease that involves the hardening of the skin and connective tissues
• Migraines

7. ALPHA AND BETA BLOCKERS

Alpha-blockers lower blood pressure by keeping the hormone norepinephrine from tightening the muscles in the walls of smaller arteries and veins. As a result, the vessels remain open and relaxed. This improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure.

They're used in combination with other drugs, such as diuretics, when your high blood pressure is difficult to control.

In addition to high blood pressure, doctors prescribe alpha-blockers to prevent, treat or improve symptoms of an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia).

Beta-blockers, also known as beta-adrenergic blocking agents, are medications that reduce your blood pressure. Beta-blockers work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline.

Beta-blockers are used to prevent, treat or improve symptoms in people who have:

• Irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
• Heart failure
• Chest pain (angina)
• Heart attacks
• Migraine
• Certain types of tremors
• Hypertension

8. CALCIUM CHANNEL BLOCKERS

Calcium channel blockers lower your blood pressure by preventing calcium from entering the cells of your heart and arteries. Calcium causes the heart and arteries to contract more strongly. By blocking calcium, calcium channel blockers allow blood vessels to relax and open. Calcium channel blockers are used to prevent, treat or improve symptoms in people who have;

• Coronary artery disease
• Chest pain (angina)
• Irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia)
• Some circulatory conditions, such as Raynaud's disease

9. NITROGLYCERIN

Nitroglycerin belongs to the group of medicines called nitrates. It works by relaxing the blood vessels and increasing the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart while reducing its workload. When used regularly on a long-term basis, or just before exercise or a stressful event, this helps prevent angina attacks from occurring.

Nitroglycerin is used to prevent angina (chest pain) caused by coronary artery disease. This medicine is also used to relieve an angina attack that is already occurring.

10. ANTICOAGULANTS

Anticoagulants, commonly known as blood thinners, are chemical substances that prevent or reduce coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time.

• Atrial fibrillation — commonly forms an atrial appendage clot
• Coronary artery disease
• Deep vein thrombosis — can lead to pulmonary embolism
• Ischemic stroke
• Hypercoagulable states (e.g., Factor V Leiden) — can lead to deep vein thrombosis
• Mechanical heart valves
• Myocardial infarction
• Pulmonary embolism
• Restenosis from stents
• Cardiopulmonary bypass (or any other surgeries requiring temporary aortic occlusion)
• Heart failure

In these cases, anticoagulation therapy can prevent the formation of dangerous clots or prevent the growth of clots.

11. ANTIPLATELETS

Antiplatelet therapy with one or more of these drugs decreases the ability of blood clots to form by interfering with the platelet activation process in primary hemostasis. Antiplatelet drugs can reversibly or irreversibly inhibit the process involved in platelet activation resulting in a decreased tendency of platelets to adhere to one another and to damaged blood vessels' endothelium.

Prevention and treatment of arterial thrombosis are essential in patients with certain medical conditions such as heart attack, pulmonary embolism or stroke. Patients who require the use of antiplatelet drugs are stroke with or without atrial fibrillation, any heart surgery (especially prosthetic replacement heart valve), Coronary Heart Disease such as stable angina, unstable angina and heart attack, patients with the coronary stent, Peripheral Vascular Disease/Peripheral Arterial Disease and apical/ventricular/mural thrombus.

12. DIGOXIN/DIGITALIS

Digoxin belongs to a class of medications called cardiac glycosides. It works by affecting certain minerals (sodium and potassium) inside heart cells. This reduces strain on the heart and helps it maintain a normal, steady, and strong heartbeat.

Digoxin is used to treat heart failure. Digoxin is also used to treat atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder of the atria (the upper chambers of the heart that allow blood to flow into the heart).

Digitalis medicines strengthen the force of the heartbeat by increasing the amount of calcium in the heart’s cells. (Calcium stimulates the heartbeat.) When the medicine reaches the heart muscle, it binds to sodium and potassium receptors.

Digitalis is used to treat congestive heart failure (CHF) and heart rhythm problems (atrial arrhythmias).