Pharmacological treatment of the arterial hypertension in coronary intensive care unit

Abstract

The administration of medication is one of the activities performed by nursing staff. Thus, the objective of this research was to describe the pharmacological treatment of arterial hypertension in coronary intensive care unit. It is a cross-sectional study performed in a reference hospital in Fortaleza-CE, between May and November 2008. 62 medical records were analyzed, and it was observed that 54.8% of patients were males between 50 and 79 years of age. There was indication of 12 antihypertensive drugs, mainly the captopril. The therapy with 3 drugs was the most frequent, with significant correlation (p <0.001) between the variables age and type of therapy. In all cases studied the doses of drugs were suitable. The main route of administration was oral. It was concluded that to perform the administration of antihypertensive drugs knowledge is needed about the mechanism of action, drug interactions and adverse reactions of the drug. Such subject must be constantly updated by nurses.