Some drugs can treat a whole class of diseases, because they affect all processes of the same kind in the body. Of course, the doctor usually prescribes such drugs with great care, because the drug is included in a large number of regulatory mechanisms. All this is true for the class of drugs "calcium channel blockers." There are a number of features.
So, what are calcium channel blockers and how do they act on the disease?
In order to pump blood, the heart needs oxygen. The harder the heart works, the more oxygen is needed. Angina pectoris occurs if the supply of oxygen to the heart muscle is not enough for its increased needs from the load. Blockers of calcium channels make the walls of arteries relax, as a result of which blood pressure can significantly decrease. It becomes much easier for the heart to pump blood, the load decreases, the need for oxygen, too.
What diseases can calcium channel blockers treat?
Drugs of this kind are treated:
- Arrhythmia (atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia) ;
- Post-infarction conditions (for those who do not tolerate beta-blockers);
- Angina pectoris (pain effect disappears);
- Arterial hypertension (and many related diseases);
- Pulmonary hypertension (increased pressure in the pulmonary circle);
- Raynaud's syndrome (severe numbness of the fingers) ;
- Cardiomyopathy (left ventricular enlargement);
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage .
Are there any differences among the drugs of this class of drugs?
Calcium channel blockers differ in the duration of the effect, the method of removing the drug from the body. And, most importantly, the ability to influence the frequency and strength of the heartbeat. For example, amlodipine, a slow calcium channel blocker, has little effect on the frequency and strength of contraction, which allows it to be used to treat patients with a reduced heart rate (other drugs can be extremely dangerous in this condition), as well as patients after a heart attack who cannot be reduced at all the power of myocardial contraction. Cardizem and verapamil have the strongest reducing effect on strength and heart rate, so they are suitable for tachycardia sufferers.
What about the side effects?
They are present and unpleasant, but not everyone who has to use this class of drugs is found. The most frequent:
- Constipation (after all, these drugs affect not only the heart muscle, but also the muscles of the digestive tract);
- Headache (the brain may not have enough blood);
- Rash;
- Swelling of the legs;
- Reduced pressure;
- Drowsiness and dizziness.
Occasionally, the liver is disturbed. It happens that the gums increase. After a heart attack, some of the drugs ("Verapamil", "Cardizem") can not be used. These are very serious medicines, therefore, without a doctor’s appointment, they can’t be used categorically, otherwise very severe violations are inevitable. Like any drugs that affect pressure, these drugs can have an adverse effect on potency. However, patients usually have no alternatives, since the indications for using these drugs are usually very serious.
Interaction with other substances:
You should be especially careful with verapamil and cardizem, as they strongly affect the liver. Therefore, other drugs can begin to stand out poorly, and this leads to poisoning by them. They do not combine with lovastatin and carabamazepine.
Grapefruit juice has an interesting effect. It enhances the action of this class of drugs, so you can not drink juice or grapefruit itself 4 hours before and after taking the medicine. Be careful. These drugs require that the patient be alert to the signs of his body.