![]() Are there different types of calcium channel blockers?Ĭalcium channel blockers come in two main types. Millions of adults in the United States receive a prescription for a calcium channel blocker each year. ![]() Are calcium channel blockers commonly prescribed?Ĭalcium channel blockers are very commonly prescribed, especially for high blood pressure. Those diseases include dementia, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies are also looking at calcium channel blockers because they may help delay or prevent diseases that will be more severe if you have high blood pressure earlier in life. High-altitude pulmonary edema, a type of altitude sickness.Off-label uses of calcium-channel blockers include: Off-label prescribing is a legal practice, and it’s medically acceptable so long as healthcare providers do so safely and responsibly. This means while the medications aren’t officially approved to treat a condition, there’s evidence that they can still safely do so. In addition to the officially approved uses, calcium-channel blockers are also frequently prescribed off-label. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding into the space between the brain and the skull).Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart).Arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat rhythms).In the United States, they’ve been previously approved to treat the following: What conditions are treated by this class of medication?Ĭalcium channel blockers' main uses are to treat heart and circulatory conditions. That slows down those cells’ use of calcium because there are fewer ways to bring it inside. At the right dosage, calcium channel blockers (sometimes calcium channel antagonists) only block some - but not all - of them. There are many calcium channels on each of the cells in question. This allows targeting of medications depending on which channels they affect. Those channels also have a type of security feature, which only allows ions that have the right type of charge (either positive or negative) and the right size to enter and exit.Ĭalcium channel blockers take advantage of the fact that certain types of calcium channels tend to exist only in certain parts of the body. Those ions enter and exit your cells using channels, which act just like doorways to the inside of your cells. That means when calcium ions enter a cell, sodium ions leave, and vice versa. Your body is always working to balance things out. Your body uses ions (atoms with an electrical charge) in electrolytes to transport things into and out of your cells. How do they work?Ĭalcium is an electrolyte, which means it has a positive charge when it’s dissolved in water. Because your heart and circulatory system need calcium to function, these medications treat high blood pressure, heart rhythm problems and more. ![]() Calcium channel blockers are a group of medications that limit how your body uses the essential mineral calcium. ![]()
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