isosorbide-dinitrate

Expert Advice

Indications:

It is used as a prevention and treatment of angina (chest pain) and as a combination therapy in
myocardial infarction (heart attack) and congestive heart failure.

Administration:

This medicine is used orally or injected into a vein. The lowest oral dose should be used for the elderly. The injectable form is injected into a vein by a medical professional. The dose is dependent on the age, condition and its severity.

This medicine is not recommended for children.

Storage:

Store this medicine at room temperature (20-30 Celsius) or refrigerate, depending on the type of medicine. Please keep away from excessive light, moisture, and children.

Side Effects:

Its side effects are postural hypotension (decreased blood pressure on changing postures), tachycardia (increased heart rate), throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, flushing (temporary reddening of the face), syncope (temporary consciousness loss), temporary hypoxemia (reduced blood oxygen level), reaction at the site of injection, and glaucoma.
Specific side effects include severe hypotension, diaphoresis (sweating), apprehension (anxiety),
restlessness, muscle twitching, retrosternal (around the ribs) discomfort, palpitations, abdominal pain,
and methemoglobinemia (blood disorder in which too little oxygen is delivered within the body).

Precautions:

hypothyroidism (decreased production of thyroid hormone), malnutrition, hypothermia (a situation where the body loses heat faster than it can produce heat), heart failure, hypoxemia (low level of oxygen in the blood), severe liver or kidney impairment,
orthostatic dysfunction (development of certain symptoms when standing upright), head trauma, cerebral hemorrhage (blood leakage in the vessels of the brain), susceptibility to glaucoma. Ensure to monitor blood pressure and heart rate regularly.

Effects on pregnancy and lactation:

The effects of this medicine are unknown therefore use with precaution in pregnant and lactating females.

Contraindications:

This medicine should not be used in people with hypersensitivity to nitrates, hypotension (decreased
blood pressure), hypovolemia (decreased blood volume), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a condition
with a thickened portion of the heart), aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aorta), cardiac tamponade (fluid
accumulation around the heart), constrictive pericarditis (inflammation around the heart), toxic
pulmonary edema (swelling around lungs), head trauma, cerebral hemorrhage (blood leakage in the
vessels of the brain), cerebrovascular diseases, marked anemia, raised intracranial pressure (pressure
within the brain), extreme bradycardia (decreased heart rate), closed-angle glaucoma (an eye condition
that damage the optic nerve) and G6PD deficiency (a male genetic disorder)

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