Abstract
Sublingual nifedipine is used worldwide to lower BP acutely in so-called hypertensive emergencies. Unfortunately, many patients who received sublingual nifedipine needed it about as much as a patient with high cholesterol would need a sublingual statin. Of note, there is good evidence that the sublingual application is of no added benefit because what gets into the blood stream is actually what is swallowed. Also, sublingual nifedipine lowers BP in a completely uncontrolled way, and such an abrupt BP drop has been associated with acute MI, stroke and death. Clearly, this is BP cosmetics and should be considered malpractice.
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© 2011 Springer Healthcare, a part of Springer Science+Business Media
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Messerli, F.H. (2011). Fashions and fads. In: Clinician’s Manual: Treatment of Hypertension. Springer Healthcare, Tarporley. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-907673-32-0_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-907673-32-0_13
Publisher Name: Springer Healthcare, Tarporley
Print ISBN: 978-1-907673-08-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-907673-32-0
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