In this article, we cover the following cardiovascular medications used for shock:
- Epinephrine, which is used to treat severe allergic reactions.
- Norepinephrine, which is a vasoconstrictor used to treat low blood pressure.
- Dopamine, a neurotransmitter made in the brain that acts as a chemical messenger between neurons.
- Dobutamine, which is medication used to increase cardiac output
- Albumin, which is a type of protein made by your liver that helps keep fluid in your bloodstream.
The Nursing Pharmacology video series follows along with our Pharmacology Flashcards, which are intended to help RN and PN nursing students study for nursing school exams, including the ATI, HESI, and NCLEX.
Pharmacology - Nursing Flashcards
Epinephrine
Epinephrine (Adrenalin, EpiPen) is a medication used to treat severe allergic reactions caused by insect bites or stings, foods, medications and anaphylaxis (a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction). It can also be used for advanced cardiac life support.
Use during code blue
The Code Blue hospital code is used to indicate that a patient is in immediate need of medical attention—likely because they have gone into cardiac arrest and need to be resuscitated. When you're a nurse and you're involved in a code blue situation, your patient will very likely be getting epinephrine.
Epinephrine
Epinephrine works by stimulating the alpha 1 receptors in the body resulting in vasoconstriction (constriction of blood vessels, which increases blood pressure). It stimulates beta 1 receptors in the heart, which increase the heart rate, and also stimulates the beta 2 receptors in the lungs, which result in bronchodilation.
Side effects
Side effects of epinephrine include hypertension, dysrhythmias, angina, nervousness, tachycardia, and tremors. These are easy to remember when you think of adrenaline giving an all-around “jolt” to the body.
Nursing care
When a patient is taking epinephrine, their vital signs as well as heart rhythm will need to be monitored closely. The patient's EKG will also need to be evaluated due to the side effect of dysrhythmias. If you would like to learn more about EKG interpretation in nursing, check out our EKG flashcards and EKG video series.
Norepinephrine
Norepinephrine (Levophed) is a vasoconstrictor used to treat life-threatening low blood pressure (hypotension) and shock.
Mode of action
Norepinephrine (Levophed) works by stimulating alpha-1 receptors in the body resulting in vasoconstriction. It also has some beta-1 receptor agonist activity that results in increased cardiac output.
Side effects
Side effects of norepinephrine include hypertension, dysrhythmias, and, more rarely, digital necrosis (death of tissue in the fingers, causing them to turn black).
Nursing care
When caring for a patient on norepinephrine, you’ll want to closely monitor the patient's vital signs as well as their heart rhythm and then fingers and toes for signs of necrosis. .
Dopamine
Dopamine (Intropin) is a medication used as a treatment for shock resulting from a heart attack, trauma, surgery, heart failure, kidney failure, and other serious medical conditions.
Dopamine is also naturally occurring in the body and acts as a chemical messenger between neurons in the brain. Dopamine is released when your brain is expecting a reward.
Why are you acting like such a dope? Oh wait, are you in shock….?!? Let me get you some dopamine.
Mode of action
Dopamine (Intropin) works by stimulating alpha-1 receptors in the body resulting in vasoconstriction. It also stimulates beta-1 receptors which increase cardiac output and heart rate. Dopamine also stimulates dopaminergic receptors, which helps to increase renal perfusion (blood flow into kidneys), making it an effective treatment for renal failure.
Side effects
Side effects of dopamine can include both dysrhythmias and angina.
Nursing care
As with the other medications in this article, a patient’s vital signs as well as their EKG should be monitored closely during dopamine therapy because of its effect on the heart.
Dobutamine
Dobutamine (Dobutrex) is used to treat acute heart failure usually occurring from cardiac surgery or in cases of septic or cardiogenic shock. Dobutamine can also be used in cases of congestive heart failure to increase cardiac output.
I just looked at my backside in the mirror and realized that butt is mine. Now my heart is failing, and I need some dobbutamine.
Mode of action
Dobutamine works by directly stimulating beta-1 receptors of the heart to increase myocardial contractility and stroke volume, resulting in increased cardiac output.
Side effects of dobutamine
Side effects with Dobutamine (Dobutrex) can include hypertension, dysrhythmias and angina.
Nursing care
When caring for a patient on dobutamine, you’ll want to monitor their vital signs and their EKG. The patient should also be monitored for signs of heart failure. You will most likely have an arterial line in place to monitor the patient’s pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) and their central venous pressure (CVP) during therapy.
Pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP)
PAWP is the pressure measured by wedging a pulmonary catheter with an inflated balloon into a small pulmonary arterial branch. This is considered an indirect estimate of the pressure in the left atrium of the heart. It's the same as Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure.
The expected range for PAWP is 4 - 12 mmHg.
PAWP values under 4 mmHg can be caused by hypovolemia and vasodilation. PAWP values over 12 mmHg can be caused by congestive heart failure (CHF), hypervolemia, PE, or cardiac tamponade.
Central Venous Pressure (CVP)
CVP is considered a direct measurement of the blood pressure in the right atrium and vena cava (large vein carrying deoxygenated blood into the heart). CVP is the same as right arterial pressure.
The expected range for CVP is 2 - 6 mmHg.
CVP values under 2 mmHg can be caused by hypovolemia and distributive shock. CVP values over 6 mmHg can be caused by heart failure, hypervolemia, PE, or cardiac tamponade.
Both PAWP and CVP lab value ranges are covered in our Lab Values flashcards for nursing students.
Albumin
Albumin is a type of protein made by your liver that helps keep fluid in your bloodstream and helps carry various substances throughout your body, including hormones, vitamins, and enzymes. Albumin as a medication is used to treat or prevent shock following serious injury, bleeding, surgery, or burns by increasing the volume of blood plasma. Low albumin levels can indicate a problem with your liver or kidneys.
Mode of action
Albumin works by helping maintain osmotic pressure in plasma, which can be thought of as the pressure that would be required to stop water from diffusing through a barrier by osmosis. Albumin increases intravascular fluid volume by drawing fluid from the extravascular space (fluid outside blood vessels) into the intravascular space (space contained within blood vessels).
My friend Al is a bum who sits outside a grocery store, where people bring him lots of water (fluid).
Side effects
Side effects of albumin can include fluid overload, pulmonary edema (excess fluid in the lungs) and hypertension.
Nursing care
If your patient is taking albumin, assess them for signs of fluid overload, which could include swelling (edema) and pulmonary edema, which is a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs.
Contraindications
Albumin is contraindicated for (not advised for use with) heart failure patients who already have issues with fluid overload.