HEART/STROKE: MEDICATION
The uptake on what heart patients should be taking during treament
BY:BETH POLAZZO
Medications for Heart Attack Patients
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), heart attack victims may receive:
Thrombolytic Medicines (clotbusters) are used to dissolve blood clots that block coronary arteries. To be most effective, these medicines must be given within one hour after the start of heart attack symptoms.
Beta Blockers decrease the workload on the heart and also are used to relieve chest pain or discomfort and to help prevent additional heart attacks.
Angiotensin-ConvertingEnzyme (ACE) Inhibitors lower blood pressure and reduce the strain on the heart. They also help slow further weakening of the heart muscle.
Anticoagulants thin the blood and prevent clots from forming in the arteries.
Antiplatelet Medicines, such as aspirin and clopidogrel, stop platelets (a type of blood cell) from clumping together and forming unwanted clots.
Other medicines may also be given to relieve pain and anxiety, and to treat arrhythmias, which often occur during a heart attack.
Medications for Arrhythmia Patients
According to Dr. James Rippe, a leading heart specialist and the author of numerous books about the heart, when it comes to treating arrhythmia patients, there is "a bewildering variety of medications available. Additionally, the use of these medications can be very complex. So if your patient has a serious rhythm problem, the physician will probably have consulted with a cardiologist who is skilled in the use of these drugs. The medications fall into four major classifications, depending on their mechanism of action and exactly how they work within the cardiac electrical system. Even though your physician is unlikely to have told you -or your patient - where your particular medication fits within the four classifications, he or she is guided by this broad scheme in selecting from the 30 to 40 anti-arrhythmic drugs available, the proper medication to treat the specific cardiac rhythm problem."
Medications forHeart-Failure Patients
According to the American Heart Association, among the drugs a doctor is likely to prescribe are:
ACE Inhibitors (such ascaptopril and enalapril), which open up blood vessels and decrease the heart's workload.
Diuretics (includingthiazide, loop diuretics, and potassium-sparing diuretics) to help rid the body of fluid and sodium.
Digitalis glycosides, toincrease the ability of the heart muscle to contract properly and prevent heart-rhythm disturbances.
Angiotensin receptorblockers (ARBs) (such as losartan and candesartan). Like ACE inhibitors, these reduce the heart's workload. This class of drug is especially important for those who cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors.
Beta-blockers, which reduce the heart's tendency to beat faster, are particularly useful for those with a history of CAD.
For acute CHF, hospitalization may be required. Hospitalized patients may receive oxygen and intravenous medications, such as vasodilators (like nesiritide) and diuretics. Inotropic agents (like dobutamine and milrinone), given intravenously, help improve the heart's ability to pump blood.