hydralazine classification
Mia Russell
Updated on June 20, 2026
Hydralazine is a more potent vasodilator than are the ACE inhibitors, and hydralazine is superior to the ACE inhibitors in terms of acute effects on cardiac performance.
What is the mechanism of action of hydralazine?
Mechanism of action
Hydralazine is a drug that conducts the blood pressure lowering effects by vasoconstrictive repression. It is a direct-acting smooth muscle relaxant and acts as a vasodilator primarily in resistance arterioles, also known as the smooth muscle of the arterial bed.
What type of vasodilator is hydralazine?
Hydralazine (Apresoline) is an antihypertensive medication used to treat high blood pressure. It is a peripheral arterial vasodilator and causes relaxation of blood vessels which carry blood away from the heart and towards the organs and tissues.
Is hydralazine an arteriolar and vasodilator?
Mechanism of action and indications
Hydralazine is an arteriolar dilator acting directly on the smooth muscle of arterioles by mechanisms that are incompletely understood but result in reduced peripheral vascular resistance and reduced blood pressure.
Is hydralazine a thiazide diuretic?
Hydralazine works by relaxing blood vessels and increasing the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart while reducing its workload. The hydrochlorothiazide is a type of medicine known as a thiazide diuretic and helps reduce the amount of water in the body by acting on the kidneys to increase the flow of urine.
Is isosorbide a ACE inhibitor?
Is BiDil ( isosorbide dinitrate / hydralazine) an ACE inhibitor? ACE inhibitors are medications that end in “-pril” like lisinopril or benazepril. BiDil ( isosorbide dinitrate / hydralazine) and ACE inhibitors work differently, but they both relax blood vessels and help treat heart failure.
What is the indications for hydralazine?
Hydralazine is indicated alone or adjunct to standard therapy to treat essential hypertension. A combination product with isosorbide dinitrate is indicated as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of heart failure.
What is the pharmacokinetics of hydralazine?
Pharmacokinetic data indicate hydralazine is absorbed well from the gastrointestinal tract, and has an extensive and complex metabolism depending on acetylator status: slow acetylators undergo primary oxidative metabolism, while rapid acetylators are acetylated.
What class is nifedipine?
Nifedipine is in a class of medications called calcium-channel blockers. It lowers blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels so the heart does not have to pump as hard. It controls chest pain by increasing the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.
Is hydralazine a vasopressor?
Hydralazine apparently lowers blood pressure by exerting a peripheral vasodilating effect through a direct relaxation of vascular smooth muscle.
Is hydralazine a direct vasodilator?
Hydralazine is a direct vasodilator used orally to treat essential hypertension, among other diseases, and intravenously to rapidly reduce blood pressure in hypertensive urgency or emergency. Per JNC 8 guidelines, it is not a first-line agent for the treatment of essential hypertension.
Does hydralazine lower HR?
Hydralazine lowers blood pressure (BP) but also stimulates the heart which may increase the heart rate and lead to angina symptoms.
What hydralazine dilates?
Most drugs that dilate arteries also dilate veins; however, hydralazine, a direct acting vasodilator, is highly selective for arterial resistance vessels.
Is hydralazine an alpha agonist?
Hydralazine is a peripheral arterial vasodilator and clonidine is a central alpha-agonist. A brand name for hydralazine is Apresoline. Brand names for clonidine include Catapres, Catapres-TTS, and Kapvay. Side effects of hydralazine and clonidine that are similar include headache and constipation.
Why are propranolol and hydralazine given together?
The results are compared to those obtained in a group of 82 hypertensive patients, who received propranolol as the only treatment. It is concluded that the combined use of the two drugs may be purposeful not only to achieve improved blood pressure control but also to diminish the side-effects of each drug.
What is hydralazine equivalent to?
Both drugs had an appreciable antihypertensive effect, 1 mg of prazosin being equivalent to 12.5 mg of hydralazine.
What does hydralazine contain?
The active ingredient is 1-hydrazinophthalazine hydrochloride (hydralazine hydrochloride). One coated tablet contains 25 mg hydralazine hydrochloride B.P. Sugar-coated tablets. For the treatment of moderate to severe hypertension as an adjunct to other anti-hypertensive agents.
Does hydralazine lower potassium?
This medicine may cause a loss of potassium from your body.