Cardiovascular Agents
Pharmacy Technician Preparedness
Cardiovascular Agents
Cardiovascular agents are used to treat the heart, circulatory, and vascular system. Each Sub-Class has a unique active ingredient that targets the issues that our body cannot fight with alone. Patients who have one or more cardiovascular conditions such as CHF, hypertension and an arrhythmia may be taking multiple medications for each condition. There are multiple subclasses that I will be discussing. Even though they all are used for the cardiovascular system, they do target different areas.
Ace Inhibitors are used to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure (CHF). Most of the drugs that are Ace Inhibitors have the common ending –pril. It inhibits an enzyme; that decreases the tension of blood vessels and the blood volume, thus lowering blood pressure. Lotensin (benzapril) comes in tablets and is used for oral administration. It is one of the ace inhibitors that are indicated for treating hypertension. There is warning while using Lotensin when pregnant, it indicates to stop using immediately when pregnancy is detected. Vasotec (enalpril) comes in tablets and injection. It is indicated for the treatment of hypertension and is effective alone or in combination with other Ace Inhibitors agents, especially thiazide-type diuretics. There is a warning for fetal toxicity; when pregnancy is detected; stop using.
Antiarrhythmic agents are used to suppress abnormal rhythms of the heart. Many attempts have been made to classify antiarrhythmic agents. There is a problem from the fact that many of the antiarrhythmic agents have multiple actions, making any classification accurate. Betapace (sotalol) comes in tablets and solution for oral a...
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It can also be used for patients who need long term treatment for hyperaldosteronism and decline surgery. Spironolactone can also be used to treat congestive heart failure that are caused from edemas and can treat essential hypertension with other medications if it is appropriate for the patient (5). Spironolactone was also found to be the most effective treatment for resistant hypertension to add on to current therapy (1). Spironolactone has some minor uses in women treating hirsutism resulting from polycystic ovarian syndrome and treat acne occurring during puberty (8). The average dose for adults is twenty-five milligrams four times a day in tablet form and the usual pediatric dose is 3.3 milligrams per kilogram given throughout the day (8). Spironolactone is not commonly used during pregnancy because of the diuretic usage it can be unsafe for the mother and fetus
During my institutional rotation at Mount Sinai St. Lukes, I was asked a drug information question on what is Corlanor (ivabradine) and whether heart failure patents would benefit from using this drug.
Let’s begin with the structure. The structure of Atenolol is as follows: its chemical formula is C14H22N2O3, its relative molecular mass is 266.3g, and its chemical name is (RS)-4-(2-hydroxy-3-isopropylaminopropoxy)phenylacetamide. The physical appearance of the drug itself is a white colored powder that is odorless. The way atenolol, as well as other beta-blockers, work, is that they affect the different beta-recptors located within the human body. Every human has a certain number of beta-receptors located throughout the body, in places such as the heart, lungs, brain, etc. When a person takes a dose of atenolol, it reacts with the beta-receptors to either calm anxiety or treat blood pressure, without altering a person’s actions.
The second part of this lab was a computer simulation program to illustrate a frog’s electrocardiogram using various drugs in an isolated setting. The computer program entitled “Effects of Drugs on the Frog Heart” allowed experimental conditions to be set for specific drugs. The different drugs used were calcium, digitalis, pilocarpine, atropine, potassium, epinephrine, caffeine, and nicotine. Each of these drugs caused a different electrocardiogram and beats per minute reading. The calcium-magnesium ration affects “the permeability of the cell membrane”(Fox). When calcium is placed directly on the heart it results in three physiological functions. The force of the heart increases while the cardiac rate decreases. It also causes the appearance of “ectopic pacemakers in the ventricles, producing abnormal rhythms” (Fox). Digitalis’ affect on the heart is very similar to that of calcium. It inhibits the sodium-potassium pump activated by ATP that promotes the uptake of extracellular calcium by the heart. This in return strengthens myocardial contraction (Springhouse). Pilocarpine on the other hand
I pleased to apply to the PharmD program as the program is one area that corresponds to my career dreams. Being part of this program gives one the opportunity to gain an excellent experience in working and collaborating with various health care providers in the ward. But more importantly, it facilitates a practical environment in dealing more closely with patients. Hence, it helps to provide the ultimate health care services to patients. Also, it permits me to carry on gaining different knowledge, skills, and values in addition to those I have already developed during my undergraduate studies. My interest in being a clinical pharmacist was first aroused during my SPEP rotation in the hospital setting where I was really impressed with the role of clinical pharmacists who provide a consistent process of patient care with healthcare teams to maintain the appropriateness, effectiveness and safety of the medication use. Unlike a pharmacist, a clinical pharmacist has a more diversified responsibilities and closeness to direct patient care. Moreover, provides
In 1976 a pharmaceutical beta blocker named Atenolol (a synthetic derivative of isopropylamino-propanol) was discovered and developed by the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) to treat common cardiovascular disorders (6). To fully understand Atenolol one must first recognize that it is specifically a beta-1 adrenoceptors antagonist. This is crucial because beta blockers follow strict classification guidelines in regards to the specific receptors they will interact with. These receptors are known as β1 adrenoceptors and β2 adrenoceptors, and when a drug (like Atenolol) is found to interact with only β1 adrenoceptors it is called cardioselective while drugs affecting both β1 adrenoceptors and β2 adrenoceptors are known as non-cardioselective. This differentiation between cardioselective versus non-cardioselective allows Atenolol to treat a variety of cardiovascular disorders such as antihypertensive, hypotensive and antiarrhythmic by interacting specifically with the beta-1 adrenergic receptors (7). Atenolol is special when talking about β1 adrenoceptors antagonists because it has the lowest lipid solubility without affecting intrinsic sympathomimetic activity aka ISA (8).
The ability to become reflective in practice has become a necessary skill for health professionals. This is to ensure that health professionals are continuing with their daily learning and improving their practice. Reflective practice plays a big part in healthcare today and is becoming increasingly noticed.
And because of the effects of angiotensin II to the body, it causes a person to have hypertension, or a condition in which the blood pressure is higher than normal and can cause physiological damage to the organs. So because of this disruption of the homeostasis, a class of drug that is used to correct this unbalance is Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors. This drug prevents the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II. Which then returns the body to a balanced or equilibrate state.
ACE Inhibitor medications such as Lotensin are angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors. This can be used in conjunction with loop diuretics. This classification of drugs works by inhibiting the production of angiotensin II. This inhibition results in vasodilating therefore reducing arterial pressure, venous pressure, preload, and afterload on the heart. Ace inhibitors also decrease aldosterone formation which reduces sodium absorption and water retention. Reduced aldosterone puts Johnas at risk for hyperkalemia, a side effect of ACE inhibitors This can be used to treat his high blood pressure and tachycardia by reducing the need for compensation. This will allow his heart to also reach the oxygen demands and by reducing the preload this will
I was opportune to attend the arrowhead meeting at …Duluth on the 29th of January 2016. I met with the Pharmacist by name Dr. Rudolph. He works as a clinical pharmacist at the Hospital. He mentioned how competitive it is to get to where he is now so one may need a residency to work in the hospital.
If it is a substance like a sleeping pill, aspirin, or others within this category will decrease the heart rate. Each of these effects has a mechanism of action, to explain; adrenalin also has another name and that is epinephrine. The action that it takes is that it is an alpha and a beta-adrenergic receptor, it reacts by causing the increase in vascular constriction and decreasing vasodilation (Inc.). Also, adrenalin is a hormone that is secreted in the body and involves the fight or flight response, decreasing heart rate, and increasing calcium channels to open. Nodal cells will reach threshold more quickly and will increase the firing rate of the SA node. The faster stimulation of the heart is by the delay in the AV nodes that causes a decrease. Next, is ACh acetylcholine its mechanism of action is that it works on decreasing the activity of adenylate cyclase by acting upon the muscarinic receptors (Callahan). ACh is also a neurotransmitter, which can bind to specific receptors. It is then used by nerve cells to control different things like, the heart, lungs, and muscles. ACh does this by releasing into the SA node, the action that it involves is that it decreases the rate of the SA node, by increasing the potassium and decreasing calcium and sodium movements. Also, Alka seltzers involves in inhibition of cyclooxygenase, aiding in the production of
...ional in controlling visceral responses like heartbeat, intestinal contractions and dilation of blood vessels. This can be helpful in treating people with high blood pressure.
One of the major indications of RAAS inhibitors is blood pressure control. Despite all advances in medical sciences, 30.5% of men and 28.5% of women in the United States have hypertension.(Guo et al. 2012) The efficacy of ACEi and ARBs has shown to be similar to other first choice antihypertensive drugs, either as initial antihypertensive monotherapy or as a part of combination therapy of hypertension. In addition, there are a number of settings in which ACEi or ARBs are the antihypertensive drugs of choice because of possible benefits independent of blood pressure control.(Turnbull et al. 2008; Law, Morris, and Wald 2009) A comprehensive meta-analysis of 20 trials in RAAS inhibition proved that RAAS inhibition is associated with 5% decrease in all-cause mortality and 7% decrease in cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients(van Vark et al.
Vasodilators are used when blood flow is being constricted in narrowed veins and arteries and pooling during cardiac distress the long-term effects of the body’s mechanism to cope with this become degenerative in long term. Drugs that aid in the dilation of the vessels during these events are: Hydralazine, Nitroglycerin Ointment, Benazepril, Captopril, Enalapril, Isosorbide, and Isoxsuprine.
My job as a pharmacy technician includes various tasks throughout the pharmacy. This includes typing prescriptions received by medical professionals, counting medications, reviewing the pharmacists check of the prescription, distributing the prescriptions to the patient, taking prescriptions from medical professionals, working with insurance companies for the coverage of patients, providing health screenings for patients and ensuring patients are informed about their medications. Being in direct contact with patients and medical professionals for the majority of my work shifts has allowed me to understand the medical struggles that patients face and further my knowledge of the medical field.