See how drugs work for your patients with an MI during immediate and continuing treatment. Learn about the drugs' therapeutic effects, life-threatening adverse reactions, and interactions. See exactly how to tailor your nursing care before, during, and after drug therapy.
You'll learn:
~ how nitroglycerin relieves chest pain by relaxing vascular smooth muscles, which dilates coronary arteries
~ how thrombolytic drugs, such as alteplase, lyse an occluding thrombus, restore myocardial blood flow, and prevent necrosis of the injured myocardium
~ how heparin blocks the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin and prothrombin to thrombin, thus preventing new thrombi from forming
~ why beta blockers are used to limit the size of an MI
~ how ACE inhibitors minimize left ventricular dilation by reducing afterload and blood pressure
~ why HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, such as lovastatin, are used to reduce the risk of a second MI in patients with hyperlipidemia
~ and much, much more.
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