Details

Milrinone is a vasodilator that works by relaxing the muscles in your blood vessels to help them dilate (widen). This lowers blood pressure and allows blood to flow more easily through your veins and arteries. Milrinone is used as a short-term treatment for life-threatening heart failure. You should not be treated with milrinone if you are allergic to it, or if you have recently had a heart attack. If possible before you receive milrinone, tell your doctor if you have a heart rhythm disorder or low levels of potassium in your blood.

Typical Uses

Milrinone is used for the short-term treatment of heart failure. It works by making your heart beat stronger and by relaxing certain blood vessels so that the amount of blood that is pumped from the heart is increased. This effect may help with symptoms of heart failure (such as shortness of breath, tiredness).

Side Effects

Common milrinone side effects may include chest pain a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out bronchospasm (wheezing, chest tightness, trouble breathing) or low potassium-leg cramps, constipation, irregular heartbeats, fluttering in your chest, extreme thirst, increased urination, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness or limp feeling.

Drug Interactions

• Milrinone+tizanidine- Tizanidine and milrinone may have additive effects in lowering your blood pressure. You may experience headache, dizziness, light-headedness, fainting, and/or changes in pulse or heart rate. These side effects are most likely to be seen at the beginning of treatment, following a dose increase, or when treatment is restarted after an interruption.

Mechanism of action

Milrinone belongs to a class of medicines called phosphodiesterase inhibitors. It inhibits the enzyme phosphodiesterase-3, which eventually increases the contractility in the heart tissue, thereby, increasing the capacity of the heart to pump blood effectively.

Pregnancy Category : C