Drug Question

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 17, 2015

There's a good resource for drug interaction checks here.

When it does come to drug interactions, it's a risk vs. benefit decision.

mrsboots87 · Dec 17, 2015

Just a side note (not to be snarky). But, nitro does not directly have anything to do with pain. Indirectly in can but that is not its primary use. Nitro is a vasodilator. Open up the vessels (and in this case, the coronary arteries) and the angina is relieved which indirectly relieves the angina pain. If you know this already then that is great, but this is for those who may read and not realize that that statement is not correct. Nitro is a vasodilator, not an angina pain reliever.

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Dec 17, 2015

Angina is caused by coronary vasospasm which causes decreased blood flow and oxygen to the cardiac muscle which causes chest pain. So nitro actually does help with the pain by dilating the vessels and improving blood flow and oxygenation. At high doses nitro dilates arteries.

mrsboots87 · Dec 18, 2015

Angina is caused by coronary vasospasm which causes decreased blood flow and oxygen to the cardiac muscle which causes chest pain. So nitro actually does help with the pain by dilating the vessels and improving blood flow and oxygenation. At high doses nitro dilates arteries.

This I know. I guess what I was trying to explain is that nitro itself is not classified as a pain reliever is all. The pain that is relieved is indirect as the nitro doesn't work directly on pain receptors. But yes, one of the main points of using nitro is to relieve angina pain. But for students, it is important to know the difference between a pain reliever and a vasodilator that happens to relieve pain as a side effect of its action on the body.