Response: Carvedilol (Coreg) is a beta blocker that is used to treat hypertension, however, it can also be used to treat congestive heart failure and coronary heart disease.1,2,3 Hypertension occurs when heart must work hard to pump blood through the arteries.1 Heart failure occurs when heart fails to pump blood correctly.1,4 Heart failure can occur from several events such as …show more content…
However, at the α1-adrenergic receptor, blood pressure is lowered by reducing the release of phenylephrine and causing vasodilation. When the blood vessels are vasodilated, the peripheral vascular pressure is reduced.1 Coreg is a high tolerated drug but it does have some adverse effects; for example, headaches, dizziness (most common), bradycardia, and weight gain.1,3,4,6 Coreg was approved to hypertension to treat alone or with other antihypertensive agents in the United States in September of 1995.5 As stated above, carvedilol can be used to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure. This statement has been proven as a fact based on several studies. The efficacy of carvedilol was evaluated in two studies that I have researched. These are studies are: “Clinical Efficacy of Carvedilol in Severe Hypertension” and “Efficacy and Safety of Carvedilol in the Treatment of Hypertension” both from Journal of Cardiovascular …show more content…
This study lasted for 1 year and was performed in 27 centers.8 All patients underwent a washout period followed by a placebo period before using carvedilol. All patients’ blood pressures were taken every 3 months. Over the course of the year 59 patients were excluded from the study due violations, drop outs, intercurrent diseases, or nonresponse to the drug.8 All the remaining patients, excluding nine, had a decrease in their blood pressure. One patient still had a diastolic pressure higher than 95 mm Hg and eight others had to be switched to a different therapy because carvedilol was unsuccessful in lowering their blood pressure. “From these results, carvedilol was showed to be a well-tolerated drug what was safe and an efficacious antihypertensive