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Have CHF, Inserted Pacemaker. Prescribed Hydralazine. Irrregular BP. Should Medicine Be Taken?
Hello, how are you? I would like to know if i'm doing the right thing by holding my mother's Hydralazine 25mg. She has recently been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure and status post pacemaker insertion about a week ago. I've been taking her blood pressure before every medication adminstration. She is prescribed Hydralazine 25mg, three times a day. Her blood pressure is tricky because it's often reading like 145/40 or even 160/42 on a constant basis. I know that Hydralazine is a vasodialator, so it will drop the diastolic pressure even more. But at the same time, i don't want to make her heart failure worse by not giving it at all. Are there parameters at which to hold her Hydralazine? She is also on Norvasc 10mg once a day. I have called her cardiologist and her internal medicine physician, but they are extremely busy and it often takes days to hear back from them. Thank you so very much and i apologize if i'm long-winded.
posted on
Sat, 13 Apr 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sat, 13 Apr 2013
Answered on
Mon, 15 Apr 2013
Last reviewed on
hi
For black patients with persistent NYHA class III to IV HF and LVEF For select non-black patients with left ventricular ejection fraction We suggest treatment with a combination of hydralazine plus nitrate in patients with HF and reduced LVEF who are unable to take either an ACE inhibitor or an ARB due to drug intolerance (including hyperkalemia), hypotension, or renal insufficiency . ARB intolerance can be presumed in patients who develop hyperkalemia or renal insufficiency on ACE inhibitor therapy.
take care
For black patients with persistent NYHA class III to IV HF and LVEF For select non-black patients with left ventricular ejection fraction We suggest treatment with a combination of hydralazine plus nitrate in patients with HF and reduced LVEF who are unable to take either an ACE inhibitor or an ARB due to drug intolerance (including hyperkalemia), hypotension, or renal insufficiency . ARB intolerance can be presumed in patients who develop hyperkalemia or renal insufficiency on ACE inhibitor therapy.
take care
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