What are calcium channel blockers and when should they beused?
The medications that belong to this group are what thedoctor prescribes to patients who suffer from different heart condition andconditions that affect blood vessels. They are used primarily for the treatmentof hypertension or increased blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms and painin the chest. They work by affecting the rate at which calcium moves to theheart and walls of blood vessels, which further results in improved circulationof the blood and relaxed vessels. Besides these main conditions for the treatmentof which these medications tend to be prescribed, their off-label use coversconditions such as migraine and cluster headaches, diabetic nephropathy,Raynaud’s syndrome and several others as well.
What side effects are associated with calcium channelblockers?
Generally, their main target group refers to adults and theyare not allowed for the treatment of children. The only calcium channel blockerthat is officially approved for use in cases of those who are more than six yearsold is amlodipine, and hypertension is the only condition for which it can beused in younger patients.
As for the negative sides of these medications, the list ofthose that are possible is rather long. However, the fact is that even thoughsome of them are really serious and might endanger the life of the patient, theyare not experienced frequently.
The doctors take into consideration the age of the patient, as well as presence of other conditions or medications that the patient is using,and the dosage is adjusted in order to prevent and avoid possible interactionsor negative effects. Still, even these measures of precaution are not alwaysenough to prevent some of them from occurring. Those that have been reportedmost frequently are pain in the stomach, constipation, drowsiness, nausea and headaches.It might also happen that the patient’s hands or feet will become swollen dueto the water retention, but none of these problems is a reason good enough tostop taking this medication before consulting a doctor. On the other side,medical help is necessary in cases a patient experiences pain in the chestarea, signs that indicate a heart attack, drop in the blood pressure, as wellas symptoms of paranoia, depression or temporary blindness. These problemsindicate that the patient definitely does not respond well to the medication,and its use needs to be stopped.
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