How To Remember Adenosine Vs Atropine

In this article, nosotros comprehend cardiovascular medications - atropine & antidysrhythmic classes 3 & IV. Atropine is used to treat the symptoms of low heart charge per unit and antidysrhythmic medications are drugs that are used to treat abnormal rhythms of the middle, such every bit atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation. The Nursing Pharmacology video serial follows along with our Pharmacology Flashcards, which are intended to assist RN and PN nursing students study for nursing school exams, including the ATI, HESI, and NCLEX.

Course 3 antidysrhythmic medications - potassium channel blockers (amiodarone)

Amiodarone (Nextrone, Pacerone) is a potassium channel blocker used to care for and foreclose certain types of serious, life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Amiodarone is in a class of medications called antiarrhythmics and works past relaxing overactive centre muscles.

Mode of activeness

Amiodarone works primarily past blocking potassium rectifier currents that are responsible for the repolarization of the heart during phase 3 of the cardiac activeness potential.

Side effects

Amiodarone carries many serious side effects, including hypotension, bradycardia, pulmonary toxicity, liver toxicity, thyroid dysfunction, blue/gray skin discoloration and cough.

Black box warning

Amiodarone (Nextrone, Pacerone) carries a black box alarm because of the cardiac toxicity, liver toxicity, and pulmonary toxicity it produces in the body.

Amy owes me one hundred dollars, just she is in the hospital with vfib on an amiodarone drip… so I guess it's not a good fourth dimension to collect.

Patient education

Patients should be informed that amiodarone is a unique drug that should not exist consumed with grapefruit juice. Amiodarone is candy by enzymes in your intestine to its agile form. Grapefruit contains compounds that slow downwardly this procedure and therefore might not exist able to control problems associated with your centre rate and rhythm.

Patients on amiodarone should be instructed to written report a cough.

Class four antidysrhythmic medications - calcium aqueduct blockers (verapamil, diltiazem)

Verapamil (Calan) and diltiazem (Cardizem) are a grade of medications chosen calcium-channel blockers. They piece of work past relaxing the claret vessels and so the heart does not have to pump as hard. Information technology as well increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. These medications are used to care for atrial fibrillation, atrial palpitate, likewise equally supraventricular tachycardia.

Side effects

Side effects with calcium aqueduct blockers include hypotension, peripheral edema, bradycardia, headache, and constipation.

Nursing care

When a patient is going to be on a calcium aqueduct blocker, their EKGs and vital signs will need to be monitored very closely. They'll also need to change positions slowly due to the side effect of hypotension.

Class 5 antidysrhythmics - (adenosine, digoxin, magnesium)

Adenosine (Adenocard, Adenoscan), digoxin (Digox), and magnesium (Almora, Maginex) are class 5 antidysrhythmic medications used to care for irregular heartbeats and supraventricular tachycardia. Magnesium is also used as a magnesium supplement, and we cover that later in this Pharmacology serial.

Mom walked into my "den of sin" and ended up with tachycardia. She needed adenosine to slow her rhythm down.

Side effects

Side effects with adenosine include arrhythmias as well every bit shortness of breath and hypotension.

A VERY important side effect of adenosine is that it tin and will finish the heart (on purpose) for six-12 seconds. This is an expected finding, just important to know!

Nursing care and patient education

If your patient is taking this medication, y'all'll need to monitor their EKG rhythm and as well teach them to change positions slowly.

An important note about administering adenosine is information technology must exist pushed fast through a large diameter Four because it has a very curt half-life. Some nurses like to joke that adenosine is non 4 push button but an 4 "slam"!

Anticholinergic or antimuscarinic medications - atropine

Atropine (Atropen) is a medication used to treat symptoms of depression center rate (bradycardia), heart block, reducing salivation and bronchial secretions before surgery or as an antidote for overdose of cholinergic drugs and mushroom poisoning.

Atropine is the trampoline to go your heart charge per unit upward.

Mode of action

Atropine inhibits acetylcholine sites in the smooth muscles besides every bit the secretory glands and the central nervous system. It decreases vagal stimulation of the center, which allows for an increase in the heart rate.

Side furnishings of atropine

The side furnishings of atropine are the same side effects as other anticholinergic medications. Patients on atropine can experience blurred vision, dry out mouth, urinary retention, constipation, and maybe tachycardia.

Cathy's favorite way to call up the side effects of anticholinergic medications is "can't pee, tin't meet, tin can't spit, and tin't poop".

Nursing care

When a patient is on atropine, they will need to be monitored for urinary retention as it tin cause urinary tract infections, bladder damage, kidney impairment and incontinence. The patients fiber and fluid intake should increase in order to prevent constipation. Lithium is too not recommended for patients taking anticholinergic medications.

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Total Transcript

In this video, we are going to be talking about antidysrhythmic medications, class III, IV, and V, too as an anticholinergic, antimuscarinic medication that is besides used for dysrhythmias.

So let's talk almost class 3 antidysrhythmic medications. These are potassium channel blockers, and the key medication to know within this class is amiodarone.

Yous would use amiodarone for astringent dysrhythmias such every bit ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia.

So this medication carries many serious side furnishings, including hypotension, bradycardia, pulmonary toxicity, liver toxicity, and thyroid dysfunction.

It does carry a blackness box alarm because of the cardiac toxicity, the liver toxicity, and the pulmonary toxicity.

So the way I recollect this medication, my piddling hint here that'due south on my card, is that Amy owes me $100, but she's in the hospital with 5-fib on an amiodarone drip, so information technology's probably not a good time to collect. Then once again, Amy owes me $100, so amiodarone. And but remember about her in the hospital on amiodarone drip, and that's why you can't get your $100 back.

So I'chiliad amused past this. I don't know if you lot are. I similar the absurd craven hint, also, that'south ane of my favorites, merely this one's definitely top five for me.

Other key points near amiodarone is that your patient should not eat grapefruit juice while they're taking this medication.

Likewise, keep in mind that sotalol, is another medication that is officially inside this class, Class 3 antidysrhythmic, but it is a nonselective beta blocker, then I don't know why they stuck it here and not into Class 2, but officially, sotalol is a Class 3 antidysrhythmic. Merely again, I would actually focus your attention on amiodarone.

At present, let's briefly talk nigh Class 4 antidysrhythmic medications, which are calcium channel blockers.

This class includes medications such as verapamil and diltiazem which, if y'all retrieve, we talked about when we covered medications for hypertension and angina. So calcium aqueduct blockers, like I said, are Class iv antidysrhythmics.

They tin can treat atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, every bit well as supraventricular tachycardia.

Then side furnishings with calcium channel blockers include hypotension, peripheral edema, bradycardia, headache, and constipation.

And if your patient is going to exist on a calcium aqueduct blocker, yous're going to desire to monitor their EKGs and their vital signs, and then teach them to change positions slowly due to the side effect of hypotension.

Okay. Then our Class 5 antidysrhythmic is adenosine.

Adenosine is used to treat supraventricular tachycardia.

And the way I remember this one, this is too my top v of hints here, is let'southward say you have some shady business concern going on in your bedroom and your mom walks in on your den of sin, right, adenosine, she walks in on your den of sin and information technology gives her tachycardia because she'south seeing something, whatever you got going on in in that location. And so she ends up needing adenosine to slow her rhythm down. And so that'due south my little hint for adenosine.

Side furnishings with adenosine include arrhythmias as well every bit shortness of breath and hypotension.

Other Class 5 antiarrhythmics include digoxin as well as magnesium sulfate.

If your patient is taking this medication, yous'll demand to monitor their EKG rhythm and and then besides teach them to change positions slowly.

Okay. Lastly, here with the antidysrhythmics, I want to talk about an anticholinergic or antimuscarinic medication that is used for arrhythmias, and that is atropine.

Atropine is a really of import medicine to know.

Information technology is used for sinus bradycardia. It can besides be used for heart block, and it can besides be used to help decrease secretions during surgery.

So the tip I desire to offer hither is one that was sent in by a member of our Level Upward crew, and they said that atropine is the trampoline to help get your heart charge per unit up. So I love it. That's an amazing hint.

And then the way of action of atropine is that information technology inhibits acetylcholine sites in the smooth muscles too as the secretory glands and the primal nervous organization. And so it decreases vagal stimulation of the heart, which allows for an increment in the heart rate.

However, the side effects of atropine are anticholinergic side effects, and you recollect my little PG-13 hint for anticholinergic side furnishings, which is can't pee, tin't see, tin't spit, and can't poop, right? So we're going to have blurred vision, dry mouth, urinary retention, constipation, and mayhap tachycardia besides.

Then when your patient is on atropine, you're going to want to monitor for urinary retention, considering we definitely don't desire that. We're going to want to increase their fiber and fluid intake in guild to prevent that constipation every bit well.

And then that is information technology for our antidysrhythmic medications. I hope this video has been helpful, and I will selection it up with more videos soon. Thanks for watching!

Source: https://www.leveluprn.com/blogs/nursing-pharmacology/9-cardiovascular-medications-antidysrhythmic-classes-iii-iv

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