Category: Cardiovascular Medications

November 3, 2022November 2, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Ranolazine (Ranexa) Pharmacology Podcast

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Ranolazine is primarily used for chronic angina management. I discuss pharmacology, drug interactions, adverse effects, and more in this podcast episode.

Ranolazine is well known to have drug interactions. CYP3A4 is of major importance but there are other subtle drug interactions that are important.

QTc prolongation has been reported with ranolazine so it is important to recognize risk factors and other medications that may contribute to this concern.

Enzyme inducers like carbamazepine, phenytoin, and St. John’s wort are all associated with reducing the concentrations of ranolazine.

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October 20, 2022October 24, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Valsartan Pharmacology Podcast

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On this podcast episode, I discuss valsartan pharmacology, adverse effects, drug interactions, and much more.

Valsartan is a fairly common ARB. I mostly see losartan and valsartan used as the most common ARBs in hypertension management.

Valsartan has a longer half-life than losartan which is why we can often get away with once daily dosing compared to losartan which sometimes requires twice daily.

Hyperkalemia is a major concern with ARBs like valsartan. Trimethoprim and spironolactone are two medications that can increase this risk.

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August 25, 2022August 22, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Ticagrelor Pharmacology

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On this episode, I discuss ticagrelor pharmacology, adverse effects, and important drug interactions.

Ticagrelor has a warning with regards to the use of aspirin. Higher doses of aspirin can impair the effectiveness of ticagrelor and I discuss this further on this episode.

Bleeding is the major adverse effect from ticagrelor and naturally, hematocrit and hemoglobin are important monitoring parameters.

I discuss CYP3A4 drug interactions on this episode and how it may affect ticagrelor.

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July 28, 2022July 15, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Olmesartan Pharmacology

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On this episode, I discuss olmesartan (Benicar) pharmacology, adverse effects, drug interactions, and pharmacokinetics.

Olmesartan can cause a unique GI adverse effect called enteropathy. I discuss this on this podcast episode.

Important monitoring parameters for olmesartan include potassium, renal function, and blood pressure.

Olmesartan has a longer half-life than losartan. I discuss how this might be advantageous in clinical practice.

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June 30, 2022June 27, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Bisoprolol (Zebeta) Pharmacology

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On this episode, I discuss bisoprolol (Zebeta) pharmacology, adverse effects, drug interactions, and other important clinical pearls.

Bisoprolol is a beta-1 selective antagonist that can be used for atrial fibrillation, angina, and other cardiovascular indications.

It is important to remember that bisoprolol and other beta-blockers are not considered first-line agents for hypertension alone.

Beta-receptor selectivity does start to disappear with bisoprolol as you get to higher dosages. I discuss this further in the podcast.

Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

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May 5, 2022April 26, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Chlorthalidone Pharmacology

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On this episode I discuss chlorthalidone pharmacology, adverse effects, and recent literature regarding cardiovascular disease reduction. Our friends at Pyrls.com are offering a free diagram of the nephron including the mechanism of action AND a summary of diuretic effects that I discussed on the podcast – Go sign up and get these for free and support this awesome sponsor!

Chlorthalidone is a thiazide diuretic that uniquely raises blood calcium levels compared to loop diuretics which lower calcium levels.

There was a recent piece of literature (2020) comparing chlorthalidone versus hydrochlorothiazide. It found that chlorthalidone was no more effective than HCTZ.

Remember that chlorthalidone can raise uric acid and increase the risk of gout flares.

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April 28, 2022April 26, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Verapamil Pharmacology Podcast

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On this episode, I discuss verapamil pharmacology, adverse effects, and important drug interactions.

There are numerous drug interactions to be aware of with verapamil as it inhibits the enzyme CYP3A4.

Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker (non-dihydropyridine) that blocks calcium channels in the heart and vessels.

In addition to hypotension and bradycardia, verapamil can cause constipation which may be more prominent in our geriatric patients.

Be sure to check out our free Top 200 study guide – a 31 page PDF that is yours for FREE!

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April 7, 2022April 5, 2022

Nursing Pharmacology (Amazon Highly Rated)

Guide to Drug Food Interactions (Amazon Best Seller)

Drug Interactions In Primary Care (Amazing Resource for Practicing Clinicians)

Perils of Polypharmacy (Great Resource for Those Who Work in Geriatrics)

Carvedilol (Coreg) Pharmacology

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On this episode of the Real Life Pharmacology podcast, I discuss carvedilol pharmacology, drug interactions, and adverse effects.

Carvedilol is one of the few beta-blockers that has alpha-blocking activity.

Carvedilol is almost exclusively metabolized by various CYP enzymes so renal function changes typically don’t change drug concentrations to a significant extent.

Beta-blockers like carvedilol are well known to cause the adverse effects of fatigue and sexual dysfunction.

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