Verapamil (brand names: Isoptin®, Verelan®, Calan®) is a medical drug that acts as an L-type calcium channel blocker. It is used in the treatment of hypertension, angina pectoris, and some types of arrhythmia. IUPAC nomenclature is a system of naming chemical compounds and of describing the science of chemistry in general. ... CAS registry numbers are unique numerical identifiers for chemical compounds, polymers, biological sequences and alloys. ... The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System is used for the classification of drugs. ... A section of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System. ... PubChem is a database of chemical molecules . ... DrugBank is a database available at the University of Alberta that provides information about thousands of products. ... A chemical formula (also called molecular formula) is a concise way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Italic textLink titleLink titlelink titlelink titleBold text General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... The molecular mass of a substance (less accurately called molecular weight and abbreviated as MW) is the mass of one molecule of that substance, relative to the unified atomic mass unit u (equal to 1/12 the mass of one atom of carbon-12). ... The gram or gramme, symbol g, is a unit of mass. ... The mole and its simple conversions into different units of measurements. ... In pharmacology, bioavailability is used to describe the fraction of an administered dose of medication that reaches the systemic circulation, one of the principal pharmacokinetic properties of drugs. ... Santorio Santorio (1561-1636) in his steelyard balance, from Ars de statica medecina, first published 1614 Metabolism (from μεταβολισμος (metabolismos)) is the biochemical modification of chemical compounds in living organisms and cells. ... The liver is one of the largest internal organs of the human body. ... The elimination half-life of a drug (or any xenobiotic agent) refers to the timecourse necessary for the quantity of the xenobiotic agent in the body (or plasma concentration) to be reduced to half of its original level through various elimination processes. ... The hour (symbol: h) is a unit of time. ... Excretion is the biological process by which an organism chemically separates waste products from its body. ... Human kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ... The pregnancy category of a pharmaceutical agent is an assessment of the risk of fetal injury due to the pharmaceutical, if it is used as directed by the mother. ... The regulation of therapeutic goods, that is drugs and therapeutic devices, varies by jurisdiction. ... Sagittal section of nose mouth, pharynx, and larynx. ... Oral medication A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ... Calcium channel blockers are a class of drugs with effects on the muscle of the heart and the muscles of the rest of the body. ... For other forms of hypertension see hypertension (disambiguation) Hypertension or high blood pressure is a medical condition wherein the blood pressure is chronically elevated. ... A cardiac arrhythmia, also called cardiac dysrhythmia, is a disturbance in the regular rhythm of the heartbeat. ...

Verapamil is used to treat irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias) and high blood pressure. It relaxes your blood vessels so your heart does not have to pump as hard. It also increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart to control chest pain (angina). If taken regularly, verapamil controls chest pain, but it does not stop chest pain once it starts. Your doctor may give you a different medication to take when you have chest pain. A cardiac arrhythmia, also called cardiac dysrhythmia, is a disturbance in the regular rhythm of the heartbeat. ... Arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure is a medical condition where the blood pressure is chronically elevated. ... angina tonsillaris see tonsillitis. ...

Verapamil is a class IV antiarrhythmic agent, and decreases conduction through the AV node. Antiarrhythmic agents are a group of pharmaceuticals that are used to suppress fast rhythms of the heart (cardiac arrhythmias), such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia, and ventricular fibrillation. ... The atrioventricular node (abbreviated AV node) is the tissue between the atria and the ventricles of the heart, which conducts the normal electrical impulse from the atria to the ventricles. ...

Some possible side effects of the drug are headaches, facial flushing, dizziness, swelling, and constipation. A headache (medically known as cephalgia) is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... Dizziness (Latin: Vertigo) is the sensation of instability. ... Edema (BE: oedema, formerly known as dropsy) is swelling of any organ or tissue due to accumulation of excess fluid. ... Constipation or Irregularity, is a condition of the digestive system where a person (or other animal) experiences hard feces that are difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in severe cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. ...

Verapamil is also used in cell biology as an inhibitor of drug efflux pump proteins such as P-glycoprotein. This is useful as many tumor cell lines overexpress drug efflux pumps, limiting the effectiveness of cytotoxic drugs or fluorescent tags. Its also used in fluorescent cell sorting for DNA content, as it blocks efflux of a variety of DNA-binding fluorochromes such as Hoechst 33342. Cell biology (also called cellular biology or cytology, from the Greek kytos, container) is an academic discipline which studies cells. ... An inhibitor is a type of effector (biology) that decreases or prevents a chemical reaction. ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... Chemotherapy (pronounced keem-o-therapy) is the use of certain drugs to treat disease, as distinct from other forms of treatment, such as surgery. ... In molecular biology and biotechnology, a fluorescent tag is a part of a molecule that researchers have attached chemically to aid in detection of the molecule to which it has been attached. ... For other uses, see DNA (disambiguation). ... A fluorophore is a fluorescent molecule. ...

In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911.

Source

• Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 1996;36:161-8. P-glycoproteins and multidrug resistance. Bellamy WT.

• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a684030.html Last Revised - 04/01/2003