Control of hypertension in the critically ill: a pathophysiological approach

Annals of Intensive Care

Table 3 Main cardiovascular effects of the different antihypertensive drugs

	Heart rate	Myocardial contractility	Preload	Systemic vascular resistance
Nitrates
Nitroglycerin	+	0	_ _	_
Nitroprusside	+	0	_ _	_ _
Hydralazine	+/++	0	0/+	_ _ _
ACE inhibitors and AT1 receptor blockers	0	0	_	_ _ _
Calcium channel blockers
Amlodipine	_	_	0	++
Nifedipine	_	_	0	+ + +
Nicardipine	0	_	0	+++
Diltiazem	_ _	_	0	+
β−blockers	_ _ _	_ _	0	+
β-blockers with intrinsic	_	_	0	0/_
sympathomimetic activity
Phentolamine	0/ _	_	0/+	_ _ _
Urapidil	0/+	0	_ _	_ _ _
Diuretics	0/+	0	_ _ _	+ +
Clonidine	_ _	0	0	_ _
Methyldopa	0/ _	0/ _	0/ +	_ _

0, no effect; - Slight negative effect; -- moderate negative effect; --- strong negative effect.
+ Slight positive effect; + + moderate positive effect; + + + strong positive effect.
ACE angiotensin-converting enzyme, AT1 angiotensin II subtype 1.