Abstract
BackgroundClonidine is an imidazoline sympatholytic, acting on both α2-adrenergic and imidazoline receptors in the brainstem to induce antihypertensive and negative chronotropic effects in the vasculature and heart respectively.Case presentationA 69-year-old gentleman with hypertension presented to the emergency department after multiple syncopal episodes over the past 12 months. Electrocardiogram demonstrated sinus bradycardia with a heart rate of 42 beats per minute. It was hypothesized that the antihypertensive agent clonidine was responsible for inducing symptomatic bradycardia. Clonidine was thus gradually tapered and then discontinued over five days restoring normal sinus rhythm rates while avoiding hypertensive rebound related to sympathetic surge. His heart rate and blood pressure remained within normal limits after the clonidine taper and subsequent adjustments to his other hypertensive medications and he was discharged.ConclusionsWhile clonidine has fallen out of favor for its indication as an antihypertensive, it remains a viable option for the use of opioid withdrawal, chronic pain, and smoking cessation, necessitating the appropriate clinical and pharmacological competencies for a physician to prescribe. A discussion of the clinical effects of clonidine brainstem receptor activation follows.
Highlights
Clonidine is an imidazoline sympatholytic, acting on both α2-adrenergic and imidazoline receptors in the brainstem to induce antihypertensive and negative chronotropic effects in the vasculature and heart respectively.Case presentation: A 69-year-old gentleman with hypertension presented to the emergency department after multiple syncopal episodes over the past 12 months
While clonidine has fallen out of favor for its indication as an antihypertensive, it remains a viable option for the use of opioid withdrawal, chronic pain, and smoking cessation, necessitating the appropriate clinical and pharmacological competencies for a physician to prescribe
Marketed as ‘Catapres,’ this sympatholytic drug has been clinically shown to reduce blood pressure and heart rate long before the discovery of G-protein coupled receptors such as the α2-adrenergic receptors were mechanistically linked to its phenotypic effect [4, 5]
Summary
While clonidine has fallen out of favor for its indication as an antihypertensive, it remains a viable option for the use of opioid withdrawal, chronic pain, and smoking cessation, necessitating the appropriate clinical and pharmacological competencies for a physician to prescribe. A discussion of the clinical effects of clonidine brainstem receptor activation follows
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