Beta-Blockers For High Blood Pressure: Types, Side Effects, Drug Interactions
Conclusion In conclusion, beta-blockers serve as an indispensable tool in the realm of modern medical treatment, particularly in managing a broad range of cardiovascular conditions. Their unique mechanism of action, which includes decreasing heart rate and blood pressure, confers a significant cardio-protective effect. This, combined with their versatility and the extensive clinical experience with their use, has cemented beta-blockers as a first-line treatment for various conditions, from hypertension and heart failure to anxiety and migraines. Although beta-blockers present unique benefits, it’s crucial...
Source: The EMT Spot - July 24, 2023 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Michael Rotman, MD, FRCPC, PhD Tags: Blood Pressure Source Type: blogs

High Blood Pressure and Erectile Dysfunction
Research confirms that high blood pressure and ED are closely linked. But did you know the majority of cases of ED are caused by hypertension? Keep reading to find out more. Experts suggest that “hypertension is sometimes a standalone condition and sometimes it’s associated with other conditions, which also impact erectile dysfunction.” According to the European Society of Cardiology, this likelihood is almost double in men with uncontrolled high blood pressure. Long-term exposure to hypertension and elevated blood pressure damages the arterial wall. This leads to atherosclerosis and the narrowing of art...
Source: The EMT Spot - November 8, 2022 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Michael Kutryk Tags: Guides Blood Pressure Source Type: blogs

A 40-something without past history presents with wide complex tachycardia and crushing chest pain
See Ken Grauer ' s important and detailed ECG analysis at the bottom.CaseA 40-something with no PMH presented with palpitations, tachycardia, and crushing chest pain.This was the prehospital ECG.Sustained wide complex tachycardia.  Is it VT or SVT with Aberrancy?Also: there is no concordant ST segments or clearly excessively discordant ST segments, so superimposed Occlusion MI (OMI) is unlikely.There is a regular wide complex tachycardia, without P-waves, and anLBBB configuration andinferior axis.  [LBBB "configuration" is different from LBBB: it means that there is a predominant S-wave in V1 and V2 and...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - February 14, 2022 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs

Toothache, incidental Wide Complex Tachycardia
Discussion by our ElectrophysiologistSmith: “I thought that the wide complex tachy (WCT) could be AVRT or VT” EP: " Antidromic AVRT morphology would essentially be the same as “VT” originating from ventricular the insertion site of the accessory pathway. Therefore, traditional criteria for SVT with aberrancy do not apply to antidromic AVRT (except, that negative concordance can never be AVRT!) "  Smith: “But then when the patient converted and had PVCs of exactly the same morphology as the WCT, that it must be VT and not AVRT ” EP: " In cases of intermittent pre-excitation, you cou...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - November 17, 2021 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 18th 2021
In this study, Desferal, deferoxamine mesylate for injection, which is approved for the treatment of acute iron intoxication and chronic iron overload, was used to explore the beneficial effects on preventing aging-induced bone loss and mitigating dysfunction of aged BMSCs. High-dose Desferal significantly prevented bone loss in aged rats. Compared with controls, the ex vivo experiments showed that short-term Desferal administration could promote the potential of BMSC growth and improve the rebalance of osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation, as well as rejuvenate senescent BMSCs and revise the expression of stemness/se...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 17, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

Senescent Cells Provoke Excessive Sympathetic Nerve Fiber Growth, with Harmful Consequences
Senescent cells are created constantly throughout life in response to a range of circumstances, but only begin to accumulate in later life, once there is an imbalance between processes of creation (as a response to cell damage, for example) and processes of destruction (such as immune surveillance of senescent cells). Senescent cells secrete a potent mix of signals that, when sustained over time, provokes chronic inflammation and alters nearby cell behavior and tissue structure in detrimental ways. Researchers are only now attempting to catalog exactly how senescent cells cause harm, given the advent of senolytic therapies...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 14, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs

Electrical storm – Management
Electrical storm – Management Electrical storm: Recurrent unstable ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) requiring more than three direct current (DC) shocks per day. Beta blocker is the single most effective therapy for recurrent VT unless the person is in shock. A combination of intravenous amiodarone with oral propranolol has been found to be superior to intravenous amiodarone with oral metoprolol [1]. Stellate ganglion block / ablation is being increasingly used as a modality for treatment of drug refractory ventricular tachycardia. Temporary blockage of stellate ganglion can be obtained by...
Source: Cardiophile MD - December 18, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: ECG / Electrophysiology Ablation of stellate ganglion Stellate ganglion block Temporary blockage of stellate ganglion Source Type: blogs

Antiarrhythmic drug classification
The popular Vaughan Williams classification was published in 1975 [1]. It is still being used by most of us. The Sicilian Gambit published in 1991 [2] has not been so popular because of its complexity. Vaughan Williams classification is approximately as follows:  Class I: Sodium channel blockers ◦a: Moderate Na channel block. e.g. Quinidine, Disopyramide ◦b: Weak Na channel block. e.g. Lignocaine, Mexiletine ◦c: Marked Na channel block. e.g. Flecainide, Propafenone  Class II: Beta blockers  Class III: Potassium channel blockers: Amiodarone, Sotalol, Ibutilide  Class IV: Calcium channel blockers In 2018, an exten...
Source: Cardiophile MD - October 13, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: ECG / Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs

Drug challenge in Brugada syndrome – Cardiology MCQ – Answer
Drug challenge in Brugada syndrome – Cardiology MCQ – Answer Which of the following is not usually used as drug challenge to unmask the Brugada Type I ECG pattern? – Correct answer: d) Propranolol Drug challenge is used when there is clinical suspicion in the form of syncope, agonal respiration and family history, but ECG does not show the classical type I Brugada syndrome ECG. Sodium channel blockers are used to unmask the ECG changes of the disease. Drug challenge should be cautiously done with continuous ECG monitoring and occurrence of QRS widening more than 130% of baseline, frequent ventricular ecto...
Source: Cardiophile MD - April 20, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: Cardiology Source Type: blogs

Drug challenge in Brugada syndrome – Cardiology MCQ
Drug challenge in Brugada syndrome – Cardiology MCQ Which of the following is not usually used as drug challenge to unmask the Brugada Type I ECG pattern? a) Ajmaline b) Flecainide c) Propafenone d) Propranolol Click here for the correct answer and discussion The post Drug challenge in Brugada syndrome – Cardiology MCQ appeared first on All About Cardiovascular System and Disorders. (Source: Cardiophile MD)
Source: Cardiophile MD - April 19, 2020 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: Cardiology MCQ DM / DNB Cardiology Entrance Source Type: blogs

Prescription Drugs That Block Weight Loss
A number of drugs prescribed to treat common conditions, such as hypertension, allergies, depression, inflammation, and diabetes, block your ability to lose weight. Several of these drugs actually cause weight gain, and most doctors fail to inform their patients of such side effects. Among the drugs that block weight loss are: Beta-blockers: metoprolol, atenolol, carvedilol, and propranolol  Antidepressants: amitriptyline (Elavil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), doxepin, paroxetine (Paxil), trazodone, and others Steroids: prednisone and hydrocortisone (but not inhaled or nasal steroids for allergies) Antihistamines: diphenhydr...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - May 7, 2019 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: News & Updates blood sugar drugs failed weight loss fatigue weight loss hypertension insulin prescription drugs undoctored wheat belly Wheat Belly Total Health Source Type: blogs

Medications That Can Cause Depression
There is nothing more frustrating than when the cure is part of the problem. Because depression is prevalent in patients with physical disorders like cancer, stroke, and heart disease, medications often interact with each other, complicating treatment. To appropriately manage depression, you and your physician need to evaluate all medications involved and make sure they aren’t cancelling each other out. A review in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience a while back highlighted certain medications that can cause depression. The following are medications to watch out for. Medications to Treat Seizures and Parkinso...
Source: World of Psychology - March 31, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Depression Medications Drug Interactions Mood Disorder Source Type: blogs

Fight Aging! Newsletter, November 12th 2018
This study's researchers approached all people turning 85 in 2006 in two cities in the UK for participation. At the beginning of the study in 2006-2007, there were 722 participants, 60 percent of whom were women. The participants provided researchers with information about what they ate every day, their body weight and height measurements, their overall health assessment (including any level of disability), and their medical records. The researchers learned that more than one-quarter (28 percent) of very old adults had protein intakes below the recommended dietary allowance. The researchers noted that older adults w...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 11, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs

A Mechanism by Which Hypertension Accelerates Atherosclerosis
The raised blood pressure of old age is known as hypertension, and it is predominantly caused by dysfunction in blood vessel walls: cross-links, calcification, and loss of elastin cause reduced elasticity, while smooth muscle cells lose their capacity to act for a variety of other reasons. When blood vessels can no longer correctly react to circumstances by contracting and dilating to an appropriate degree, then the whole system of pressure control is thrown off, and higher blood pressure is the result. Atherosclerosis, on the other hand, is the progressive formation of fatty plaques in blood vessel walls. This narr...
Source: Fight Aging! - November 9, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs

Addiction Abuse
Hardly a day goes by without a report in the press about some new addiction. There are warnings about addiction to  coffee. Popular psychology publications talk of “extreme sports addiction. ” Some news reports even alert us to the perils of chocolate addiction. One gets the impression that life is awash in threats of addiction. People tend to equate the word “addiction” with “abuse.” Ironically, “addiction” is a subject of abuse.The American Society of Addiction Medicine  defines addiction as a “chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry…characterized by the inabilit...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 13, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs