Drug Interactions
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Several cardiac drugs manifest some form of interaction with each other or with noncardiac drugs. It is of paramount…
Cardiac Drugs During Pregnancy and Lactation
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Most cardiovascular agents (like all other drugs) must be avoided in the first trimester of pregnancy because they may…
Antiplatelet Agents, Anticoagulants, Factor Xa Inhibitors, and Thrombin Inhibitors
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Antiplatelet Agents Antiplatelet agents are used in virtually all patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Aspirin, the pioneer hallmark…
Dyslipidemias
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Diagnosis Persons with a marked increase in serum levels of cholesterol to >350 mg/dL (9 mmol/L) represent a very…
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) play a pivotal role in the management of heart…
Heart Failure Controversies
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Are ARBs as Effective as ACE Inhibitor Therapy for Heart Failure? The carefully run RCTs CHARM (2003), Val-HeFT (2001),…
Hypertension Controversies
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Beta-Blockers Should Not Remain First Choice in the Treatment of Primary Hypertension: True or False? A meta-analysis by Lindholm…
Beta-Blocker Controversies
(1) University of Ottawa The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada Beta-Blockers Are not a Good Initial Choice for Hypertension: True or False? A meta-analysis (Lindholm et al. 2005) concluded…
