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Coronary steal is also the mechanism in most drug-based cardiac stress tests; When a patient is incapable of doing physical activity they are given a vasodilator that produces a "cardiac steal syndrome" as a diagnostic procedure. The test result is positive if the patient's symptoms reappear or if ECG alterations are seen.
Cardiac glycosides are a class of organic compounds that increase the output force of the heart and decrease its rate of contractions by inhibiting the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. [1] Their beneficial medical uses include treatments for congestive heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias ; however, their relative toxicity prevents them ...
The following are medications commonly prescribed cardiac pharmaceutical agents. The specificity of the following medications is highly variable, and often are not particularly specific to a given class. As such, they are listed as are commonly accepted.
Cardiotonic agents, also known as cardiac inotropes or stimulants, have a positive impact on the myocardium (muscular layer of the heart) by enhancing its contractility. Unlike general inotropes, these agents exhibit a higher level of specificity as they selectively target the myocardium.
Antihypertensive agents comprise multiple classes of compounds that are intended to manage hypertension (high blood pressure). Antihypertensive therapy aims to maintain a blood pressure goal of <140/90 mmHg in all patients, as well as to prevent the progression or recurrence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in hypertensive patients with established CVD. [2]
The cardiac myocyte has two general types of action potentials: conduction system and working myocardium. The action potential is divided into 5 phases and shown in the diagram. The sharp rise in voltage ("0") corresponds to the influx of sodium ions, whereas the two decays ("1" and "3", respectively) correspond to the sodium-channel ...
In cardiac pharmacology, calcium channel blockers are considered class-IV antiarrhythmic agents. Since calcium channels are especially concentrated in the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes , these agents can be used to decrease impulse conduction through the AV node, thus protecting the ventricles from atrial tachyarrhythmias .
Dobutamine is a direct-acting agent whose primary activity results from stimulation of the β 1-adrenoceptors of the heart, increasing contractility and cardiac output. Since it does not act on dopamine receptors to inhibit the release of norepinephrine (another α 1 agonist), dobutamine is less prone to induce hypertension than is dopamine .