Heart Drugs Information

 

Heart Drugs Brief Information

The term "Cardiac Glycosides" is used to describe a group of compounds of common basic chemical structure, which increase the work performance of the heart. They have a cardiotonic action, and this is most marked on the "failing heart".

Congestive Heart Failure(CHF): Congestive heart failure is a gradually developing inability of the heart to pump sufficient blood to satisfy the needs of the body, i.e., it fails to function as an efficient pump.
The main actions of all glycosides are similar and exerted on the heart. The differences are only in the potency, onset and duration of action, which are dependent on their sugar moieties. 
Effect of other myocardial properties. The effect of digitalis on myocardial automaticity and excitability depend on the dose, and the different parts of the heart react differently.
Therapeutic Uses:
1. Heart failure (left sided, right sided, or combined) with sinus rhythm or atrial fibrillation. 
2. Atrial fibrillation, Atrial flutter
3. Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT). The patient benefits by vagal effects on the SA node, and on the conduction tissue. It is essential to establish that the PAT itself is not due to digitalis overdose. 
4. Prevention of paroxysmal atrial arrhythmias. Digitalis may be used when guideline has failed or cannot be tolerated.
5. Digitalis may be used prophylactically before cardiac surgery to prevent heart failure.

Heart Drugs That Treat Different Heart Diseases

Statins: Statin drugs are usually used to lower cholesterol level. Statins, also called Cholesterol lowring drugs, are prescribed to patients whose body fail to respond diet and exercise to lower cholesterol level.

Diuretics: Diuretics, though being heart drug also used to treat blood pressure. Diuretic drugs are used to prevent excess of fluid retention. Excess fluid retention causes heart to work harder to pump blood. This eventually leads to weak heart and heigh blood pressure.

Anticoagulants help reduce blood clot formation and dissolve already present blood clots. Blood clots, when formed in arteries, vein and cappilaries, leads to stroke. Anticoagulants are generally prescribed to patient with artificial valves, history of strokes. Warfarin is anticoagulant drug.

Anti-platelet drugs: Like anticoagulants drugs anti-platelet drugs also help to reduce blood clots formation process, though, with different mechanism.

Beta Blockers: Beta Blockers are used for number of therapeutic purposes such as in chest pain (angina), control heart beating rate (arrhythmias) and blood pressure control.

Digitalis is used in heart related disease such as heart failure. It is a good alternative of beta blockers to treat arrhythmias.

Calcium Channel Blockers are multipurpose drugs that may be used to treat heart disease (arrhythmias), chest pain and high blood pressure.

Angiotensin Converting Enzymes (ACE) Inhibitors are used to treat congestive heart failure and hypertension.

Vasodilators 
A large number of patients of CHF fail to respond to conventional therapy (digitalis glycosides and diuretics). In such cases use of vasodilators significantly improves hemodynamic performance.

Cholesterol is a lipid. It is synthesized from acetate in many tissues of the body. The basic scheme for its synthesis —Acetate — Mevalonate — Squalene — Lanosterol — Cholesterol. It is highly fat soluble with a limited water solubility. and it localizes itself in the lipid regions of cell membranes. The cholesterol molecule is of major importance in maintaining the structural integrity of the plasma membrane of cells. If cholesterol metabolism defective, the cell membrane, ceases to function properly and ruptures more easily.

Atherosclerosis is essentially a metabolic disorder characterized by faulty transport, distribution and deposition of lipids. it is influenced by multiple factors. Above all the concept that atherosclerosis, and subsequent formation of atheromatous plagues in the intimal walls of the arteries is mostly accepted.