Pathophysiology and Pharmacology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Pathophysiology and Pharmacology - Essay Example Whenever there is left sided heart failure the blood accumulates in the lungs first and then the pulmonary arteries and then right sided heart failure occurs. But, in this case, the patient suffers from right sided heart failure which means there would first be accumulation of blood in the right ventricle and then the right atrium. This accumulation of blood in the right atrium would lead a decreased venous return. This decreased venous return would then cause the accumulation of blood in the peripheral veins. The veins most affected are the veins in the leg. The gravitational force leads to the accumulation of blood in these veins. Accumulation of blood increases the hydrostatic pressure in these veins leading to the disturbance of starling’s forces and movement of fluid outside these vessels causing pretibial and ankle edema. The cause behind irregular pulse can be simply identified by the atrial fibrillation. In atrial fibrillation, there is abnormal transmission of pulses from the transmitters from the atria into the purkinjee fibres of the ventricles. This abnormal transmission of impulses leads to abnormal patterns of contractions of ventricular muscles causing an irregular contraction and relaxation pattern and an abnormal cardiac cycle (Cotran, 1999). This abnoarmal cardiac cycle due to irregular transmission of impulses is what causes an irregular pulse. Ramipril is a carboxylic derivative and belongs to a class of drugs known as ACE inhibitors. Ace inhibitors are those drugs that inhibit an enzyme Angiotensin converting enzyme. The major function of this enzyme is to convert angiotensin 1 to angiotensin 2. The converted angiotensin 2 helps increase the blood pressure by several mechanisms. Some of these are: secretion of aldosterone which acts on the DCT in the kidney to increase the absorption of sodium and water, also the secretion of ADH which by its name the Anti Diuretic Hormone,