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Epinephrine is one of the most powerful vasopressor (causing a rise in blood pressure) drugs known. It increases the strength of heart muscle contractions as well as the heart rate, and it constricts blood vessels and veins. Because it is a powerful heart stimulant, it is used in emergency medicine to restore heart rhythm in cases of shock and in certain cases of cardiac arrest (heart attack). The most common use of epinephrine in medicine is to relieve breathing distress in patients with Asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. The synthetic catecholamine isoproterenol is also used in the treatment of these diseases.

Epinephrine is a powerful bronchodilator, meaning it relaxes bronchial muscle. It also constricts pulmonary vessels (in the lung), and inhibits the release of histamines triggered by allergic reactions.

As a bronchodilator it is most often inhaled by mouth as a spray or through another breathing apparatus. Epinephrine is also used on the skin or mucous membranes to control bleeding of wounds because it constricts blood vessels. It is sometimes used for the same reason during surgery of the nose, throat, and larynx, where it also shrinks mucosa (membranes that secrete slime), making surgery easier. Epinephrine increases metabolism, accelerates blood coagulation, and lowers pressure inside the eye in some types of glaucoma.

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10y ago

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