In: Nursing
Tumelo, a 40-year old black male, has been experiencing chest pain throughout the week, even when watching television. He smokes about ten cigarettes per day, does not exercise, eats unhealthy foods, and has a BMI of 36. Apart from the anti-depressant sertraline (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), he is not taking other medication. His doctor has not observed any significant changes to his electrocardiogram, but there are elevated cardiac enzymes. His doctor decides that a standard combinational approach is needed to treat someone of his risk level, though does not believe his condition is intractable. Tabulate the following information: i) provide the drug class(es) that would be prescribed to treat his acute coronary syndrome, ii) explain how the drug class(es) would pharmacologically treat his condition, and iii) provide an example of a drug from each class
Depending on your diagnosis, medications for emergency or ongoing care (or both) may include the following:
Thrombolytics (clot busters) help dissolve a blood clot that's blocking an artery.
Nitroglycerin improves blood flow by temporarily widening blood vessels.
Antiplatelet drugs help prevent blood clots from forming and include aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), prasugrel (Effient) and others.
Beta blockers help relax your heart muscle and slow your heart rate. They decrease the demand on your heart and lower blood pressure. Examples include metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL) and nadolol (Corgard).
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors widen blood vessels and improve blood flow, allowing the heart to work better. They include lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril), benazepril (Lotensin) and others.
Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) help control blood pressure and include irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar) and several others.
Statins lower the amount of cholesterol moving in the blood and may stabilize plaque deposits, making them less likely to rupture. Statins include atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor, Flolipid) and several others.
doctor can choose from a range of medications, including statins, niacin, fibrates and bile acid sequestrants. Aspirin. Your doctor may recommend taking a daily aspirin or other blood thinner. This can reduce the tendency of your blood to clot, which may help prevent obstruction of your coronary arteries.
Modern heart drug therapy includes the following “big six” medications:
Statins — to lower LDL cholesterol. ...
Aspirin — to prevent blood clots. ...
Clopidogrel — to prevent blood clots. ...
Warfarin — to prevent blood clots. ...
Beta-blockers — to treat heart attack and heart failure and sometimes used to lower blood pressure.