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Hydralazine
Hydralazine hydrochloride (1-hydrazinophthalazine monohydrochloride; Apresoline) is a direct-acting smooth muscle relaxant used to treat hypertension by acting as a vasodilator primarily in arteries and arterioles. By relaxing vascular smooth muscle, vasodilators act to decrease peripheral resistance, thereby lowering blood pressure.[1] Additional recommended knowledge
MechanismHydralazine works through a cGMP-mediated mechanism, resulting in smooth muscle relaxation.[2] Clinical UseHydralazine is not used as a primary drug for treating hypertension because it elicits a reflex sympathetic stimulation of the heart (the baroreceptor reflex). The sympathetic stimulation may increase heart rate and cardiac output, and may cause angina pectoris or myocardial infarction.[1] Hydralazine may also increase plasma renin concentration, resulting in fluid retention. In order to prevent these undesirable side effects, hydralazine is generally prescribed in combination with a beta-blocker (e.g., propranolol) and a diuretic.[1] Hydralazine is used to treat severe hypertension, but again, it is not a first line therapy for essential hypertension. However, hydralazine is the first line therapy for hypertension in pregnancy, with methyldopa.[2] Side effectsCommon side effects include:
Patients given hydralazine over a peroid of six months may develop a lupus-like syndrome or other immune related diseases that generally are reversible with withdrawal.[1] Hydralazine is differentially acetylated by fast and slow acetylator phenotypes thus incidence of lupus-like disease in slow acetylators. References
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hydralazine". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |