Background—Observational studies suggest that there are differences in adherence to antihypertensive medications in different classes. Our objective was to quantify the association between antihypertensive drug class and adherence in clinical settings. Methods and Results—Studies were identified through a systematic search of English-language articles published from the inception of computerize...

Plasma potassium concentration was measured at admission in 1234 patients who presented with acute chest pain. One hundred and ninety five patients were on beta blockers before admission. The potassium concentrations of patients admitted early (within four hours of onset of symptoms) were compared with those admitted later (4-18 hours after onset of symptoms). There was a transient fall in plas...

BACKGROUND Male infertility has many causes, and recently it has been suggested that calcium channel blockers might contribute to male infertility. METHODS A case consistent with nifedipine-induced male infertility is described. MEDLINE was searched for articles on the effect of calcium channel blockers and the general causes of infertility, with an emphasis on male infertility, using the key...

Introduction For three decades, blockers have been widely used in the treatment of hypertension and are still recommended as first-line drugs in hypertension guidelines. Moreover, after myocardial infarction and in patients with heart failure, treatment with blockers prevents re-infarction, hospitalisation for heart failure, and premature death. The effect of blockers as a treatment for primary...

High-affinity blockers for an ion channel often have complex molecular structures that are synthetically challenging and/or laborious. Here we show that high-affinity blockers for the mouse nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) can be prepared from a structurally simple material, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The PEG-based blockers (PQ1-5), comprised of a flexible octa(ethylene glycol) scaffol...

Beta-blockers have been used as first-time antihypertensives for decades and such use has also been recommended by guidelines. However, subsequently some meta-analyses questioned this status of beta-blockers by bringing to light their limitation in terms of stroke prevention and their metabolic sideeffects. Following this, several major international hypertension guidelines have removed beta-bl...

Blood pressure (BP) is controlled by several mechanism, (i.e nitric oxide, (NO), neural mechanisms, renal-endocrine mechanisms. Many antihypertensive agents, such as diuretics, β-blockers, calcium-channel blockers, and blockers of the renninangiotensin system, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers among others are used separately or in combination...

BACKGROUND: Based on a series of clinical trials showing no difference in the effectiveness or tolerability of most major classes of antihypertensive medications, the Joint National Commission on High Blood Pressure Treatment recommends that physicians prescribe β -blockers or diuretics as initial hypertensive therapy unless there are compelling indications for another type of medication. Never...

Pharmacokinetic considerations in the elderly include absorption, bioavailablility, drug distribution, half-life, drug metabolism, and drug excretion. There are numerous physiologic changes with aging that affect pharmacodynamics with alterations in end-organ responsiveness. This article discusses use of cardiovascular drugs in the elderly including digoxin, diuretics, beta-adrenergic blockers,...