An antianginal is a drug used in the treatment of angina pectoris, a symptom of ischaemic heart disease.
A transient ischemic attack (TIA), commonly known as a mini-stroke, is a minor stroke whose noticeable symptoms usually end in less than an hour. A TIA causes the same symptoms associated with a stroke, such as weakness or numbness on one side of the body, sudden dimming or loss of vision, difficulty speaking or understanding language, slurred speech, or confusion.
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the neck, wrist, at the groin, behind the knee, near the ankle joint, and on foot. The radial pulse is commonly measured using three fingers. This has a reason: the finger closest to the heart is used to occlude the pulse pressure, the middle finger is used get a crude estimate of the blood pressure, and the finger most distal to the heart is used to nullify the effect of the ulnar pulse as the two arteries are connected via the palmar arches. The study of the pulse is known as sphygmology.
Angioplasty, also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins, typically to treat arterial atherosclerosis.
Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial carbon dioxide levels is called hypercapnia. Respiratory failure is classified as either Type 1 or Type 2, based on whether there is a high carbon dioxide level, and can be acute or chronic. In clinical trials, the definition of respiratory failure usually includes increased respiratory rate, abnormal blood gases, and evidence of increased work of breathing. Respiratory failure causes an altered state of consciousness due to ischemia in the brain.
Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. The sound may be soft or loud and unpleasant. Snoring during sleep may be a sign, or first alarm, of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Research suggests that snoring is one of the factors of sleep deprivation.
General anaesthesia (UK) or general anesthesia (US) is a method of medically inducing loss of consciousness that renders a patient unarousable even with painful stimuli. This effect is achieved by administering either intravenous or inhalational general anaesthetic medications, which often act in combination with an analgesic and neuromuscular blocking agent. Spontaneous ventilation is often inadequate during the procedure and intervention is often necessary to protect the airway. General anaesthesia is generally performed in an operating theater to allow surgical procedures that would otherwise be intolerably painful for a patient, or in an intensive care unit or emergency department to facilitate endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients. Depending on the procedure, general anaesthesia may be optional or required. Regardless of whether a patient may prefer to be unconscious or not, certain pain stimuli could result in involuntary responses from the patient that may make an operation extremely difficult. Thus, for many procedures, general anaesthesia is required from a practical perspective.
Pethidine, also known as meperidine and sold under the brand name Demerol among others, is a fully synthetic opioid pain medication of the phenylpiperidine class. Synthesized in 1938 as a potential anticholinergic agent by the German chemist Otto Eisleb, its analgesic properties were first recognized by Otto Schaumann while working for IG Farben, in Germany. Pethidine is the prototype of a large family of analgesics including the pethidine 4-phenylpiperidines, the prodines, bemidones and others more distant, including diphenoxylate and analogues.
An anesthetic or anaesthetic is a drug used to induce anesthesia — in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into two broad classes: general anesthetics, which result in a reversible loss of consciousness, and local anesthetics, which cause a reversible loss of sensation for a limited region of the body without necessarily affecting consciousness.
Respiratory arrest is a serious medical condition caused by apnea or respiratory dysfunction severe enough that it will not sustain the body. Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long period of time. If the heart muscle contraction is intact, the condition is known as respiratory arrest. An abrupt stop of pulmonary gas exchange lasting for more than five minutes may permanently damage vital organs, especially the brain. Lack of oxygen to the brain causes loss of consciousness. Brain injury is likely if respiratory arrest goes untreated for more than three minutes, and death is almost certain if more than five minutes.
Benzyl alcohol (also known as α-cresol) is an aromatic alcohol with the formula C6H5CH2OH. The benzyl group is often abbreviated "Bn" (not to be confused with "Bz" which is used for benzoyl), thus benzyl alcohol is denoted as BnOH. Benzyl alcohol is a colorless liquid with a mild pleasant aromatic odor. It is useful as a solvent for its polarity, low toxicity, and low vapor pressure. Benzyl alcohol has moderate solubility in water (4 g/100 mL) and is miscible in alcohols and diethyl ether. The anion produced by deprotonation of the alcohol group is known as benzylate or benzyloxide.
Cerebral angiography is a form of angiography which provides images of blood vessels in and around the brain, thereby allowing detection of abnormalities such as arteriovenous malformations and aneurysms. It was pioneered in 1927 by the Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz at the University of Lisbon, who also helped develop thorotrast for use in the procedure.
In human anatomy, the carotid sinus is a dilated area at the base of the internal carotid artery just superior to the bifurcation of the internal carotid and external carotid at the level of the superior border of thyroid cartilage. The carotid sinus extends from the bifurcation to the "true" internal carotid artery. The carotid sinus is sensitive to pressure changes in the arterial blood at this level. It is the major baroreception site in humans and most mammals.
A phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor is a vasodilating drug that works by blocking the degradative action of cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) on cyclic GMP in the smooth muscle cells lining the blood vessels supplying various tissues. These drugs dilate the corpora cavernosa of the penis, facilitating erection with sexual stimulation, and are used in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Sildenafil was the first effective oral treatment available for ED. Because PDE5 is also present in the smooth muscle of the walls of the arterioles within the lungs, two PDE5 inhibitors, sildenafil and tadalafil, are FDA-approved for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. As of 2019, the wider cardiovascular benefits of PDE5 inhibitors are being appreciated.
An analeptic, in medicine, is a central nervous system stimulant. The term "analeptic" typically refers to respiratory stimulants. Analeptics are central nervous system (CNS) stimulants that include a wide variety of medications used to treat depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and respiratory depression. Analeptics can also be used as convulsants, with low doses causing patients to experience heightened awareness, restlessness, and rapid breathing. The primary medical use of these drugs is as an anesthetic recovery tool or to treat emergency respiratory depression. Other drugs of this category are prethcamide, pentylenetetrazole, and nikethamide. Nikethamide is now withdrawn due to risk of convulsions. Analeptics have recently been used to better understand the treatment of a barbiturate overdose. Through the use of agents, researchers were able to treat obtundation and respiratory depression.
Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is a flap-like tear of the inner lining of the vertebral artery, which is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brain. After the tear, blood enters the arterial wall and forms a blood clot, thickening the artery wall and often impeding blood flow. The symptoms of vertebral artery dissection include head and neck pain and intermittent or permanent stroke symptoms such as difficulty speaking, impaired coordination, and visual loss. It is usually diagnosed with a contrast-enhanced CT or MRI scan.
A nitrovasodilator is a pharmaceutical agent that causes vasodilation by donation of nitric oxide (NO), and is mostly used for the treatment and prevention of angina pectoris.
Iopentol is a pharmaceutical drug that was used as a radiocontrast agent for X-ray imaging in Europe.
Riociguat, sold under the brand name Adempas, is a medication by Bayer that is a stimulator of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). It is used to treat two forms of pulmonary hypertension (PH): chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Riociguat constitutes the first drug of the class of sGC stimulators. The drug has a half-life of 12 hours and will decrease dyspnea associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Tedral, or theophylline/ephedrine/phenobarbital, is a medicine formerly used to treat respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. It is a combination drug containing three active ingredients - theophylline, ephedrine, phenobarbital. This medication relaxes the smooth muscle of the airways, making breathing easier. The common side effects of Tedral include gastrointestinal disturbances, dizziness, headache and lightheadedness. However, at high dose, it may lead to cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension, seizures or other serious cardiovascular and/or central nervous system adverse effects. Tedral is contraindicated in individuals with hypersensitivity to theophylline, ephedrine and/or phenobarbital. It should be also used in caution in patients with cardiovascular complications, such as ischemic heart disease and heart failure and/or other disease conditions. It can cause a lot of drug–drug interactions. Therefore, before prescribing patient with Tedral, drug interactions profile should be carefully checked if the patient had other concurrent medication(s). Being used as a treatment option for respiratory diseases for decades, Tedral was withdrawn from the US market in 2006 due to safety concerns.
