These drugs can help preventblood clots, widen blood vessels, and reducecholesterol.
They can help prevent heart attacks, provide urgent treatment, and help people avoid repeat attacks.
Many of these drugs can be used for more than one purpose.
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To treat heart attacks, it is common to use more than one cardiac-specific drug at one time.
These drugs slow down clotting by reducing fibrin formation and preventing clots from forming and growing.
This prevents your blood pressure from rising.
It is used to treat or improve symptoms of cardiovascular conditions including high blood pressure.
These drugs ald and reduce the accumulation of fluid in your lungs and other parts of your body.
Diuretics help lower blood pressure and help reduce edema (swelling) from excess fluid.
These drugs open and relax narrowed blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and reduce your heart rate.
This helps blood flow through the blood vessels easier to ensure normal function.
They can also prevent or limit angina attacks.
Nitrates come in different forms, including oral, sublingual, transdermal, and topical.
It can also improve your chances of short- and long-term survival.
The greatest benefits appear when aspirin is taken promptly within four hours after symptoms of chest pain begin.
Aspirin effectively reduces heart attack damage because it is an antiplatelet agent.
It works as a blood thinner, preventing small blood cells called platelets from forming clots.
These blood clots can block arteries and reduce blood flow causes a heart attack.
This makes your heart work less intensely.
It also blocks the nerve impulses that cause an arrhythmia.
Beta-blockers are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States.
They also boost levels ofhigh-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, or “good cholesterol.”
When too much LDL builds up inside your artery walls, it createsplaque.
There are seven statins.
Your healthcare provider determines which statin is appropriate for you.
In some cases, they may do so even before a heart attack is confirmed.
You must take prescribed medications according to their instructions to get the intended benefit.
When taking cardiac-specific medications, do the following:
Some cardiac-specific medications may include the following special instructions.
The process continues until side effects occur or the target dose (maximum effective dose) has been achieved.
Titration limits potential side effects by taking time to see how your body will react to a new drug.
This method of medication dosing is used with ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, beta-blockers, and diuretics.
This caution is sometimes referred to as a “black box warning.”
It also states that simultaneous maintenance doses of aspirin should not exceed 100 milligrams.
Prescription Refills
Don’t wait until the last minute to refill your medication.
Set a reminder to request refills at least a week before your current supply runs out.
Getting the most from these drugs means strictly adhering to drug guidelines and warnings.
Telling your healthcare provider about side effects can help them adjust your dosing to get the best results.
Heed drug warnings and contraindications for the best results.
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