Abrupt Withdrawal of Cardiovascular Drugs

Abstract

The human body adapts remarkably to environmental insults and maintains its status quo. This adaptability is especially apparent in the cardiovascular reflexes that maintain arterial pressure. Pressure-sensitive receptors are strategically located in the vasculature of vital organs, such as the brain and the kidney, and are ready to be activated when compensatory mechanisms are necessary to return perfusion pressure to normal. Thus, when blood pressure declines, the carotid sinus signals the brain to activate the sympathetic nervous system and to deactivate the parasympathetic nervous system, in an attempt to increase cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance, thereby restoring the blood . . .