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There are several types of medication that can help ease the symptoms of heart failure and help keep it from getting worse. The most commonly prescribed treatments are described here. Remember that taking all of your medications as directed by your doctor is critical for successfully managing your heart failure and staying as healthy as you can be. |
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Digoxin
Digoxin makes the heart pump more strongly (increases the force of contractions), which can result in improvement of your symptoms. These drugs may also help control certain types of irregular heartbeats.
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Beta Blockers
Beta blockers are used to slow heart rate, which can often become elevated as the heart tries to compensate for a weak pumping action. These drugs also reduce blood pressure. Often beta blockers are used in conjunction with ACE inhibitors, diuretics, and digoxin.
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Nitrates
Nitrates work as vasodilator designed to relax the body's blood vessels, allowing for easier flow of blood. Nitrates (nitroglycerin tablets, patches or paste) are commonly prescribed for chest pain, also called angina.
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IV Diuretics
Intravenous Diuretics are administered to quickly make you feel better by helping the body get rid of extra fluids and sodium that cause the congestion.
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Diuretics (water pills)
When your low-sodium diet doesn't control the amount of fluid buildup in your system, diuretics are usually prescribed. These drugs work by helping the kidneys remove salt and water from the bloodstream, thereby increasing the rate of urine formation. This helps your heart pump easier and reduces breathing difficulties associated with fluid buildup. It also helps decrease fluid buildup in other parts of the body, such as the ankles and legs.
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Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers
Angiotensin II receptor blockers, better known as ARBs, have similar effects to ACE inhibitors, including reducing blood pressure. ARBs are different because they stop angiotensin from working (instead of stopping the body from making angiotensin). ARBs are not associated with the side effect of coughing that is experienced by some patients who take ACE inhibitors. For this reason, patients experiencing cough from ACE inhibitors may be switched to an ARB.
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Calcium Channel Blockers (CCB)
Calcium channel blockers are used with caution in CHF patients, especially if they are also taking beta blockers and ACE inhibitors. When taken with beta blockers and other antihypertensives, CCBs tend to lower blood pressure and heart rate even more. The goal of using CCBs is to reduce the heart's workload without making the heart weaker.
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Potassium
Potassium helps control your heart rhythm and is necessary for your muscles to function normally. If you are taking a diuretic, potassium levels in your body may be lower than normal. It is very important to have just the right amount in your body. Potassium levels may be increased by eating high-potassium foods (such as bananas) or by taking potassium supplements under your doctor's supervision.
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IV Nitroglycerin
IV nitroglycerin is the intravenous version of the nitroglycerin tablets that many heart patients take for chest pain, also called angina. IV nitroglycerin works as a vasodilator designed to relax the body's blood vessels (allowing for easier blood flow), reduce elevated pressures within the heart, and improve shortness of breath.
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Inotropes
Inotropes are a class of drugs that strengthen the contractions of the heart (contractile stength) so the heart can pump more blood with fewer beats. IV inotropes are used to treat patients with severe heart failure marked by a dangerously low output of blood from the heart.
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ACE Inhibitors
ACE (angiotensin-converting-enzyme) inhibitors are a commonly prescribed medication for the treatment of heart failure. ACE inhibitors work by expanding (vasodilating) the body's blood vessels, which helps lower blood pressure and decreases the amount of work the heart has to perform.
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Intravenous (IV) Therapies
At times your heart may require other intravenous medications.
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NATRECOR®
NATRECOR® is a recombinant form of a naturally occurring peptide that the heart produces to try to relieve the symptoms of heart failure. NATRECOR® is used to rapidly reduce the elevated pressures within the heart and improve shortness of breath. |
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IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
NATRECOR® should not be used in patients with certain types of heart failure. NATRECOR® may reduce kidney function in some patients. In clinical studies, more patients receiving NATRECOR® had increases in a common blood measurement called "serum creatinine" than patients who were treated with standard therapy. Increases in serum creatinine often suggest that kidney function has declined. These changes were particularly noticeable at higher doses. For this reason, it is important your doctor uses NATRECOR® at the recommended dose.
In some of the clinical trials more patients who were treated with NATRECOR® died than patients treated with other standard medications. These differences were small and the deaths may or may not have been caused by NATRECOR®. Use of NATRECOR® can lower blood pressure. When NATRECOR® causes a drop in blood pressure it can be a serious side effect requiring treatment. It is important that your doctor only use NATRECOR® in a setting where your blood pressure can be closely monitored.
Be sure to ask your healthcare provider about NATRECOR®'s potential side effects, and other treatment options for heart failure.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please click here to see Full Product Information for NATRECOR®.
INDICATION
NATRECOR® (nesiritide) is a drug that is used by doctors, primarily in the hospital setting. NATRECOR® helps patients with heart failure when their condition worsens to the point that they have difficulty breathing when they are not active (like when they are resting in bed) or when they engage in slight physical activity (like brushing their teeth).
