vasopressor drugs are a class of medications that increase blood pressure and work by
inducing vasoconstriction we created this video to cover the medical definition and
provide a brief overview of this topic so if you're ready let's get into it
when it comes to pharmacology and respiratory care most people only think about the medications
that are given to affect the lungs the heart and cardiovascular system is often overlooked
however it's important to remember that respiratory therapists
are trained to provide care for patients with conditions of both the heart and lungs
that is because these two major organs work together to pump oxygenated blood to all of
the cells and tissues within the body therefore if a disease is inhibiting the functionality
of the heart it could inadvertently affect the lungs as well all of that to emphasize the fact
that cardiovascular drugs are an important class of medication to learn and understand
there are a few primary types however for this video we're specifically focusing on vasopressor
drugs as previously mentioned vasopressors are drugs that work by inducing vasoconstriction
which can increase the patient's blood pressure which means that this type of medication is
indicated for the treatment of patients with moderate to severe hypotension which is often the
case in those who are critically ill some examples of the most common types of vasopressors include
epinephrine norepinephrine dopamine and dobutamine epinephrine is the vasopressor of choice during
cpr it's an endogenous calcolamine drug that acts on beta 1 beta 2 and alpha receptors which results
in an increased heart rate stroke volume and cardiac output its effect on alpha receptors is
what stimulates vasoconstriction norepinephrine is structurally similar to epinephrine
however it acts mostly on alpha receptors which works to increase and maintain blood pressure
in comparison epinephrine acts equally on both alpha and beta receptors which means that it has
more wide-ranging effects with that said both can still be classified as vasopressor drugs
dopamine is a neurotransmitter that when administered in high doses
stimulates alpha receptors which results in vasoconstriction it is often given for
the management of shock and in patients with bradycardia that were unresponsive to atropine
dobutamine is also a catecholamine drug that stimulates beta receptors and works to increase
stroke volume and cardiac output because of this mechanism of action it can indirectly
promote vasoconstriction with that said dobutamine causes systemic vasodilation so its overall effect
on blood pressure is often unpredictable however in hypotensive patients dobutamine is effective
in maintaining their mean arterial pressure some other types of cardiovascular drugs to be familiar
with include inotropic agents antiarrhythmic agents vasodilators and anti-anginal drugs
each of which are medications that we've discussed in other videos here on our channel
but again for this video we just wanted to provide you with a brief overview of this topic
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just a quick reminder we are not doctors this video is for
educational and informational purposes only and if you want to dive deeper and
learn more about this topic you can go to respiratorytherapyzone.com where we
have a ton of free study guides practice questions and other helpful resources
i'll drop links to everything you need right below this video down in the description thank you so
much for watching all the way to the end have a blessed day and as always real easy my friend
you