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Cardiovascular medications are used
as a means to control or to prevent
certain forms of heart disease. Many
people with advanced heart disease
may take several of these drugs, and
drug treatment may change if the disease
advances or improves. The reason people
may require several types is because
they may have numerous symptoms or
conditions that need control at the same
time. Understanding the various
categories of these medications can be
helpful. Yet it would be hard to keep
track of every single drug intended to
assist in heart disease because of the
plethora that exist, and the intense
research existing in this area, which
results in frequent development of new
drugs.
Types of cardiovascular drugs may be
broken into groups depending upon their
action or what they treat. Treatment
categories are more difficult to
describe since many of these medications
may address several symptoms of heart
disease and have more than one use.
Categories that might describe drug
actions include the following: statins,
diuretics, anticoagulants,
anti-platelet, beta-blockers, digitalis
drugs, vasodilators, calcium channel
blockers, and ACE inhibitors.
Statins may be better known to people as
cholesterol-lowering drugs. When people
are unable to control cholesterol levels
through diet and exercise, doctors may
prescribe different types of statins.
Diuretics are cardiovascular drugs that
help to reduce fluid retention. These
may also reduce blood pressure, though
they usually aren’t first line blood
pressure medications. When the body is
retaining fluid, though, this can often
make the heart work harder, and the
intent with using diuretics is to reduce
heart workload.
Anticoagulants lengthen the time it
takes for blood to clot, which can help
prevent formation of blood clots that
might cause stroke. People who have
artificial valves, who have had a
stroke, or who are at risk for one may
need an anticoagulant like warfarin to
minimize future risk.
Anti-platelet drugs may be preferred to
anticoagulants, and simple ones include
medication like aspirin. These also work
to keep blood clots from forming but
through a different mechanism than most
anticoagulants.
Beta Blockers have numerous uses. They
may help control blood pressure, slow
fast arrhythmias, and reduce chest pain
associated with angina. The various
beta-blockers result in a slower
heartbeat that may help control numerous
heart disease symptoms and which may
reduce future risk of heart attack.
Digitalis is a good contrast to
beta-blockers. Medications with
digitalis stimulate the heart to beat
more forcefully. Some people with
arrhythmias may require this medication,
and other times it is used when a person
is in congestive heart failure.
Vasodilators like beta-blockers may
reduce the work of the heart and they
are often prescribed to treat chest pain
resulting from angina.
Calcium Channel Blockers are another
group of cardiovascular drugs useful in
the treatment of some forms of angina,
and may also be prescribed to treat
certain arrhythmias or high blood
pressure.
ACE (angiotensin-converting enzymes)
Inhibitors decrease some blood supply to
the heart which reduces its work.
Cardiovascular drugs that fall into this
category might lower blood pressure and
increase heart function. |
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