Contents

Disclaimer

Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up to date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breastfeeding.

Show Summary Details
Page of

Vasodilators in critical illness 

Vasodilators in critical illness
Chapter:
Vasodilators in critical illness
Author(s):

A. B. J. Groeneveld

and Alexandre Lima

DOI:
10.1093/med/9780199600830.003.0035
Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2021. All Rights Reserved. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Medicine Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 25 October 2021

Vasodilators are commonly used in the intensive care unit (ICU) to control arterial blood pressure, unload the left or the right heart, control pulmonary artery pressure, and improve microcirculatory blood flow. Vasodilator refers to drugs acting directly on the smooth muscles of peripheral vessel walls and drugs are usually classified based on their mechanism (acting directly or indirectly) or site of action (arterial or venous vasodilator). Drugs that have a predominant effect on resistance vessels are arterial dilators and drugs that primarily affect venous capacitance vessels are venous dilators. Drugs that interfere with sympathetic nervous system, block renin-angiotensin system, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, and nitrates are some examples of drugs with indirect effect. Vasodilator drugs play a major therapeutic role in hypertensive emergencies, primary and secondary pulmonary hypertension, acute left heart, and circulatory shock. This review discusses the main types of vasodilators drugs commonly used in the ICU.

Access to the complete content on Oxford Medicine Online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.