Heart Failure (HF) is a complex clinical syndrome that affects the structural and functional capacity of the ventricle to load or expel blood. According to Ferri (2016, p. 576), the principal symptoms of HF are dyspnea and fatigue which can significantly reduce an individual's exercise tolerance. Due to the various signs and symptoms associated with HF, multiple pharmacotherapies including ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, calcium channel inotropic agents, and diuretics has been utilized to alleviate HF manifestations and prolong the person's life expectancy.
In this discussion topic, I will be summarizing a particular class of diuretics that plays a significant role in alleviating the effort the heart has to expend.
Furosemide …show more content…
Its primary purpose is to excrete water and salt (sodium and chloride) from the body. The kidneys filter out all these electrolytes out of the blood and into the tubules of kidneys. The end product of these filtering processes is urine which is excreted from the body. Similarly, Gold Standard (2015) asserted that Furosemide is a loop diuretic that hinders sodium and chloride absorption by opposing the sodium/potassium and chloride co-transporter in the ascending limb of the loop of Henle. By the same token, furosemide's can lessened the peripheral vascular resistance and consequently reduced left ventricular filling pressure that ultimately provide positive benefit in individuals with congestive heart …show more content…
Furthermore, furosemide and gentamicin may cause an effect in the plasma and tissue concentrations that may lead to ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as diclofenac when used with furosemide can decrease the blood pressure and lower the diuretic effects of this medication. And finally, droperidol mixed with this drug can produce an increased risk of cardiotoxicity (QT prolongation) that may result in a cardiac