Document Detail


Nitrates in the treatment of congestive heart failure.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  8638526     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Nitrates have been widely used for the treatment of patients with chronic congestive heart failure. Although the use of these drugs has not been evaluated by large-scale studies traditionally used for evaluation of new therapy, multiple studies over the years have demonstrated their favorable effects. Organic nitrates have been shown to have a beneficial effect on ischemia, hemodynamic profile, magnitude of mitral regurgitation, endothelial function, and cardiac remodeling. These drugs alone or in combination with hydralazine have improved exercise capacity, maximal oxygen consumption, cardiac function, and survival. The use of nitrates in patients with heart failure has been limited by reduced responsiveness (resistance) and early development of tolerance. Nitrate resistance is due to reduced vascular response and results in the need to use a larger dose of any nitrate preparation when used for the treatment of patients with heart failure compared to patients without heart failure. Recent information suggests that nitrate tolerance is caused by increased levels of superoxide at the vascular wall, which leads to reduced nitric oxide level and to increased sensitivity to vasoconstrictive mechanisms, such as endothelin and angiotensin II. Intermittent dosing of nitrates allowing a 12-hour nitrate-free interval is effective in preventing nitrate tolerance and is, therefore, recommended. Recent information suggests that augmentation of nitrate dose by the use of an escalating dose regimen and a concomitant use of hydralazine can prevent or overcome the effect of nitrate tolerance in patients with heart failure.
Authors:
U Elkayam
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The American journal of cardiology     Volume:  77     ISSN:  0002-9149     ISO Abbreviation:  Am. J. Cardiol.     Publication Date:  1996 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1996-07-10     Completed Date:  1996-07-10     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0207277     Medline TA:  Am J Cardiol     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  41C-51C     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicne, Los Angeles 90033, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Drug Tolerance
Heart Failure / drug therapy*,  mortality
Hemodynamics / drug effects
Humans
Mitral Valve Insufficiency / drug therapy
Nitrates / adverse effects,  therapeutic use*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Nitrates

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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