Category: Cardiovascular-renal drugs

Antihypotensive drugs or agents are used to elevate a low blood pressure and may be classifiedas follows:I. Agents intended to increase the volume of blood in active circulation. These includeintravenous fluids such as whole blood, plasma, plasma components, plasma substitutesand solution of crystalloidsII. Vasoconstrictor drugs these include:

Diuretics are drugs, which increase renal excretion of salt and water: are principally used toremove excessive extracellular fluid from the body.In order to understand the action of diuretics it is important to have some knowledge of the basicprocesses that take place in the nephron (unit structure of kidney.Approximately 180 liters of fluid is filtered from…

Electrophysiology of cardiac muscle: the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for thegenesis of cardiac arrhythmias are not clearly understood. However, it is generally acceptedthat cardiac arrhythmias arise as the result of either ofa) Disorders of impulse formation and/ orb) Disorders of impulse conduction.Pharmacotherapy of cardiac arrhythmiasAntiarrhythmic drugs are used to prevent or correct cardiac arrhythmias (tachyarrhythmias).Drugs used…

Angina pectoris develops as a result of an imbalance between the oxygen supply and theoxygen demand of the myocardium. It is a symptom of myocardial ischemia. When the increasein coronary blood flow is unable to match the increased oxygen demand, angina develops. Ithas become apparent that spasm of the coronary arteries is important in the…

Congestive heart failure occurs when there is an inability of the heart to maintain a cardiac output sufficient to meet the requirements of the metabolising tissues.Heart failure is usually caused by one of the following:ƒ Ischaemic heart disease,ƒ Hypertension,ƒ Heart muscle disorders, andƒ Valvular heart disease.Drugs used to treat heart failure can be broadly divided…

a. General consideration:-Hypertension is defined as an elevation of arterial blood pressure above an arbitrarily definednormal value. The American Heart Association defines hypertension as arterial blood pressurehigher than 140/90mmHg (based on three measurements at different times).Hypertension may be classified in to three categories, according to the level of diastolic bloodpressure:

In the past decades, cardiovascular diseases were considered as major health problems mainlyfor western countries. However, the problem of cardiovascular disorders is also increasing indeveloping countries including Ethiopia. The most commonly encountered cardiovasculardisorders include hypertension, congestive heart failure, angina pectoris and cardiacarrhythmias. Most drugs available currently are able to reduce the morbidity and mortality due…