Adenosine
A naturally occurring substance produced in many sites in the body that plays a role in important biochemical processes. It can cause dilation (widening) of coronary arteries as well as many other effects throughout the body such as regulating heart rhythm, toning blood vessels, maintaining wakefulness and producing urine. As a drug, adenosine is used in stress tests and to treat some types of arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms), specifically those that cause a fast heartbeat.
Aldosterone Antagonist (also known as Aldosterone Receptor Blocker)
A group of drugs that act as diuretics (water pills) by blocking the body’s response to the hormone aldosterone. Aldosterone promotes the retention of sodium and the excretion of potassium. Aldosterone antagonists increase urination, reducing water and salt while retaining potassium. They help lower blood pressure, increase the heart’s pumping ability and help protect the heart in heart failure.
Alpha Blockers (also known as alpha-adrenergic antagonists, alpha-adrenergic blocking agents, and alpha-adrenergic blockers.)
A group of drugs used to lower blood pressure. They do this by blocking the effects of certain chemicals or hormones.
Amiodarone
A Class III antiarrhythmic drug used to slow the heart rate and help keep it in a regular rhythm. It is used to treat fast and/or irregular heart rates from the heart’s upper and lower chambers including atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Side effects are usually dose-related and regular follow-up is necessary to determine kidney, liver and lung function.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors
A class of drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. ACE inhibitors stop the body’s production of angiotensin, which lowers blood pressure, increases blood flow to the heart and reduces the heart’s workload.
Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers (also known as ARBs)
A class of drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. They do not interfere with the body’s production of angiotensin. They block the effects of angiotensin, preventing it from constricting the muscles around the blood vessels and narrowing the blood vessels. In this way they keep the coronary arteries open, which lowers blood pressure, increases blood flow to the heart and reduces the heart’s workload.
Antiarrhythmic Medication
A group of drugs that helps control and slow heart rate. They do this by either suppressing (slowing) the activity of tissue that is initiating electrical impulses too quickly in the heart’s natural pacemaker by slowing the transmission of fast electrical impulses inside the heart. Antiarrhythmics include several classes of drugs such as beta-blockers, potassium channel blockers, calcium channel blockers, adenosine and digitalis (also called digoxin and digitoxin). The type of arrhythmia you have determines which medication will be prescribed.
Anticoagulant (also known as Blood Thinners)
A group of drugs that decrease the ability of the blood to clot. They are sometimes called blood thinners, although they do not actually thin the blood. They are used to treat certain blood vessel heart and lung conditions. They are also given to certain people at high risk for forming blood clots, such as those with artificial heart valves or who have atrial fibrillation. Anticoagulants do not dissolve clots but may prevent existing clots from becoming larger and causing more serious problems, and are often prescribed to prevent first or recurrent heart attack or stroke. Common anticoagulant drugs are heparin and coumadin.
Antihypertensive Drugs
A group of drugs commonly prescribed to help lower blood pressure when appropriate diet and regular physical activity alone have not succeeded. They include diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blocker (ARBs), vasodilators, alpha-blockers, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers and central alpha-agonists. Many patients with high blood pressure may require more than one drug to achieve control. Some of these drugs may also be prescribed for heart failure and arrhythmia patients.
Antiplatelet Agents
A group of drugs used to keep blood clots from forming by preventing blood platelets from sticking together. They help prevent clotting in patients who have had a heart attack, unstable angina, ischemic strokes, transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and other forms of cardiovascular disease. They are usually prescribed preventively, when plaque buildup is evident in the arteries but there is not yet a large obstruction. Aspirin, Ticlid and Plavix are examples.
Beta-Blockers (Beta-Adrenergic Blocking Agents)
A class of drugs that slow the heartbeat, lessen the force with which the heart muscle contracts and reduce blood vessel contraction in the heart, brain and throughout the body. They may be used to treat abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and prevent abnormally fast heart rates (tachycardias) or irregular rhythms such as premature ventricular beats. Since they reduce the demand of the heart muscle for oxygen, they may be useful in treating angina (chest pain), which occurs when the oxygen demand of the heart exceeds the supply. Beta-blockers are also used to treat high blood pressure and other heart conditions by reducing the heart rate and the heart’s output of blood.
Blood Vessel Dilators (Vasodilators)
A group of drugs that cause the blood vessels to expand by relaxing their muscular walls. This lowers blood pressure and reduces the heart's workload. ACE inhibitors and nitroglycerine are examples of vasodilators.
Calcium Channel Blockers (Calcium Antagonists)
A class of drugs that blocks the movement of calcium into the heart and blood vessel muscle cells. This causes the muscles to relax, lowering blood pressure, slowing the heart rate and decreasing oxygen demands of the heart. These medications lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension, but have little effect on normal blood pressure. Since they decrease the heart’s pumping strength, slow the heart rate and relax blood vessels, they are also used to treat other heart conditions, such as chest pain (angina) and abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
Central Agonists (Central Alpha-Agonists)
A group of drugs that lower heart rate and reduce blood pressure. They work by preventing the brain from sending signals to the nervous system to speed up the heart rate and narrow the blood vessels. As a result, the heart does not pump as hard and blood flows more easily through blood vessels.
Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs
Cholesterol-lowering drugs reduce LDL ("bad") cholesterol, increase HDL ("good") cholesterol and reduce triglycerides (a blood fat). Several classes of drugs are used to treat cholesterol including statins. People may be prescribed a "combination" therapy of drugs depending on their specific situations. Cholesterol-lowering drugs have been proven to reduce risks for heart disease. Due to potential side effects, patients who are taking most cholesterol-lowering drugs may need to have periodic liver function tests.
Digitalis (also known as Digoxin or Digitoxin)
A drug that strengthens the contraction of the heart muscle, slows the heart rate and helps eliminate fluid from body tissues. It's often used to treat congestive heart failure and is also used to treat certain heart rhythm abnormalities (arrhythmias).
Diuretic (also known as Water Pill)
A drug that increases the rate at which urine forms by promoting the excretion of water and salts. This helps to relieve the heart's workload and also decreases the buildup of fluid in the lungs and other parts of the body, such as the ankles and legs. Different diuretics remove fluid at varied rates and through different methods. They are used to treat high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and some congenital heart defects.