Chapter 15 - Clinical perspectives on adverse effects and side effects of beta adrenergic antagonists and antianginal drugs

Side effects of beta adrenergic antagonists and antianginal drugs

Beta adrenergic antagonists and antianginal drugs

Beta Adrenergic Antagonists and Antianginal Drugs

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Angina pectoris is a common presenting symptom of underlying coronary artery disease or reduced coronary flow reserve. Patients with angina have impaired quality of life; and need to be treated optimally with antianginal drugs to control symptoms and improve exercise performance. A wide range of antianginal medications are approved for the treatment of angina, and often more than one class of antianginal drugs are used to adequately control the symptoms. This expert opinion highlights the likely cardiac adverse effects of available antianginal drugs, and how to minimize these in individual patients and especially during combination treatment.Areas covered: All approved antianginal drugs, including the older and newly approved medications with different mechanism of action to the older drugs as well as some of the unapproved herbal medications. The safety profiles and potential cardiac side effects of these medications when used as monotherapy or as combination therapy are discussed and highlighted.Expert opinion: Because of the different cardiac safety profiles and possible side effects, we recommend selection of initial drug or adjustment of therapy based on the resting heart rate; blood pressure, hemodynamic status; and resting left ventricular function, concomitant medications and any associated comorbidities.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of chronic beta-adrenergic antagonists on parotid and submandibular gland secretions in men and women of different ages. Unstimulated and stimulated saliva flow rates, total protein concentrations, and protein secretion rates were compared from medicated (various beta-antagonists, n = 25) and control (n = 60) subjects. Age-related decreases were found in unstimulated parotid saliva flow rate (p = .011) and protein secretion rate (p = .04), unstimulated submandibular salivary flow rate (p = .005) and protein secretion rate (p = .010), and in stimulated submandibular flow rate (p = .002) and protein secretion rate (p = .006). A drug-related effect was observed only in unstimulated parotid salivary flow (p = .033) and protein secretion rate (p = .04) from medicated subjects. Results from this study indicate that age and beta-adrenergic blockade alter salivary glandular function, but their effects differ with the type of salivary secretion examined.

Hypoxia-induced retinal ganglion cell death and the neuroprotective effects of beta-adrenergic antagonists

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Anesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy.

The crucial role played by medication use in the elderly is common knowledge in the worlds of health services research, clinical epidemiology, and geriatrics. It is now widely known that although persons over age sixty-five represent only about 13 percent of the population, they consume nearly one-third of all medications in the United States; that medications probably are the single most important health care technology in preventing illness, disability, and death in the geriatric population; that drugs represent one of the largest and fastest-rising out-of-pocket health care expenditures for the elderly; and that the old, because of their high drug usage rate, greater frequency of coexisting illnesses, and diminished physiological reserves, are at greater risk of experiencing adverse drug effects. Yet despite this knowledge, the use of drugs by the elderly and their clinical outcomes have not been prominent research or programmatic priorities for federal government, philanthropic, or corporate grantmakers. Beginning in the mid-1980s, The John A. Hartford Foundation began a grant-making program in the area of medication use and aging, out of an interest in enhancing the therapeutic effect of drugs used by this age group and in reducing the frequency and consequences of adverse drug events. After a number of years of active support in this area, the foundation convened its Expert Panel on Medications and Aging. This panel brought together authorities in the disciplines of geriatrics, gerontology, epidemiology, health services research, public policy, and pharmacology. Its mandate was to provide a consensus report that would critically define the further work needed to make the use of medications by the elderly more effective. This essay represents a synthesis of the work of that panel. The positions and opinions expressed below are extracted from transcripts of the expert panel’s deliberations, a structured survey administered to panel members,

Drugs have actions that may be classified as therapeutic effects and side effects; side effects are actions that do not contribute to therapeutic benefit. Some side effects are neutral; others, experienced as undesirable or unpleasant, are recorded as adverse effects. Some drug actions are therapeutic for some disorders and adverse for others; or therapeutic during acute illness and adverse during maintenance treatment. As an example, anticholinergic action may be adverse when a tricyclic antidepressant is used to treat depression but therapeutic when the drug is used to treat irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea. In clinical practice, side or adverse effects of a drug may be leveraged to manage troublesome symptoms. As an example, the sedative effect of a low dose of trazodone may be useful for some patients with insomnia. With this background, studies have examined whether the increase in appetite and weight associated with olanzapine and mirtazapine may be effective against anorexia and cachexia associated with cancer and cancer chemotherapy. The subject is important because cachexia may be present in 30%-50% of patients with cancer (with higher prevalence in patients with more advanced cancer) and because the presence of cachexia is associated with a higher risk of disease progression and mortality. Many randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have examined pharmacologic interventions such as progestins, corticosteroids, anamorelin, and medical cannabis for cancer related cachexia; most results have been disappointing. A recent RCT found that olanzapine (2.5 mg/d for 12 weeks) improved appetite, weight, other nutritional parameters, and quality of life in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer treated with chemotherapy. Another RCT, however, found that mirtazapine (30 mg/d for 8 weeks) brought no nutritional or anthropometric gain in patients with cancer and anorexia. It is concluded that olanzapine but not mirtazapine merits further investigation in patients with cancer who have anorexia and cachexia.

Background: This review article discusses the pharmacology of the most commonly used chronic medications in patients undergoing elective surgical procedures. The mechanism of action and adverse side effects of cardiovascular medications (e.g., beta blockers, alpha-2 agonist, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, diuretics), lipid-lowering drugs, gastrointestinal medications (H2-blockers, proton pump inhibitors), pulmonary medications (inhaled β-agonists, anticholinergics,), antibiotics (tetracyclines, clindamycin and macrolide, linezolid), opioids and non-opioids analgesics (NSAIDs, COX-2 inhibitors, acetaminophen), gabapentanoids, erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs, and psychotropic drugs (tricyclic antidepressants [TCAs], monoamine oxidase inhibitors [MAOI], selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs], serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors [SNRIs], and cannabinol-containing drugs) will be reviewed. Materials and Methods: An online search was conducted from January 2000 through February 2021 with the Medline database through PubMed and Google Scholar using the following search terms/keywords: “chronic medications in the perioperative period”, and “chronic medications and anesthetic implications.” In addition, we searched for anesthetic side effects associated with the major drug groups. Results and Conclusions: An understanding of the pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of most used chronic medications is important to avoid untoward outcomes in the perioperative period. These drug interactions may result in altered efficacy and toxicity of the anesthetic medications administered during surgery. These drug-drug interactions can also effect the morbidity, mortality, and recovery time of surgical patients. Part I of this two-part review article focuses on the mechanisms of action and adverse side effects of the chronic medications most commonly taken by surgical patients in the preoperative period.

There is a well defined relationship between diuretic treatment and impaired glucose tolerance and dyslipidaemia. These effects, which are seen with thiazide diuretics and loop diuretics but not with spironolactone, are independent of body weight but are strongly dose-related. beta-BLOCKING AGENTS: beta-Blockers without intrinsic sympathomimetic activity have adverse effects on lipid metabolism, but beta-blockers with intrinsic sympathomimetic activity do not. From the metabolic point of view, the latter type of beta-blockers represent the ideal choice, but they are rarely used today. All types of beta-blockers can cause an increase in fasting blood glucose and impaired glucose tolerance. ANGIOTENSIN CONVERTING ENZYME (ACE) INHIBITORS AND CALCIUM ANTAGONISTS: Neither ACE inhibitors nor calcium antagonists show any negative effects on glucose and/or lipid metabolism. ACE inhibitors have even been shown to improve insulin sensitivity. ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers are metabolically neutral, and there is evidence that combining an ACE inhibitor or calcium antagonist with a diuretic can reduce the adverse effects of the latter. ANTI-OXIDATION: Some calcium antagonists show a dose-dependent anti-oxidative activity. Lacidipine has the greatest anti-oxidative activity of the commonly used calcium channel blockers. Among ACE inhibitors, only captopril has anti-oxidative activity. Both genetic and modifiable factors may contribute to the metabolic effects of antihypertensive drugs.

This presentation provides the findings from a descriptive study examining the potential adverse events and side effects of antipsychotic medications prescribed to assisted living (AL) residents with dementia drawn from interviews with family members and chart review on 238 AL residents, from 91 AL communities in seven US states. We found that 85% of family reported that medication had been administered for agitation or aggression, 93% of the sample experienced at least one potential side effect, and 19% experienced five or more. The most common potential side effects were neurologic/psychological effects (89% of residents), and somnolence during the day (81%). Six percent of the sample experienced at least one potential adverse event. This work implies a need for caution when prescribing antipsychotics to older adults with dementia in AL. Medication management efforts should extend to monitoring AL residents for potential side effects and adverse events from specific psychoactive medications.