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

Cardiovascular drugs 

Cardiovascular drugs
Page of

PRINTED FROM OXFORD MEDICINE ONLINE (www.oxfordmedicine.com). © Oxford University Press, 2022. 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: 20 May 2022

Vasopressors are used in various shock states to correct hypotension, aiming at restoring or improving organ and tissue perfusion. Vasopressor therapy may be associated with excessive vasoconstriction, but also metabolic and other side-effects. Hence, the ideal target for arterial pressure remains undetermined. Adrenergic agents remain the most commonly used vasopressor agents. Adrenergic agents increase arterial pressure through stimulation of alpha-adrenergic receptors. The effects of the different adrenergic agents differ mostly due to variable associated beta-adrenergic effects. Epinephrine and norepinephrine are strong and equipotent vasopressor agents. Their impact on outcome is as yet unanswered, but there is no sign that epinephrine might be associated with better outcomes. Accordingly, norepinephrine is the adrenergic agent of choice, especially in patients with cardiogenic shock. Vasopressin is a non-adrenergic vasopressor acting via V1 receptor stimulation, with weak vasopressor effects in normal conditions, but markedly increased vascular tone in shock states, especially in septic shock. Splanchnic vasoconstriction may occur. Arginine vasopressin at low doses appears to be a promising alternative to adrenergic agents, but its exact place is not yet well defined.

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.