[Applause] Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers often abbreviated arbs are a class of medications used to treat hypertension and heart failure in this video I will teach you my visual pneumonic for how to remember the names uses mechanisms and side effects of angiotensin to receptor blockers let's jump in wow this young man sure looks upset we'll figure out why he's upset in a minute but first let's focus on the angel on his shoulder to the right this angel is our symbol for Angiotensin or more specifically Angiotensin 2 because Angel and Angiotensin sound pretty similar right if it helps you notice that this Angel has two Wings an angel with two wings for Angiotensin 2 got that this Angel wants to cheer up the young man with a frozen banana more on that later but unfortunately he's getting blocked here by his Nemesis the devil since angels and Devils fighting on people's shoulders is a common Trope right so when you think of this Angel getting blocked remember that we're talking about blocking Angiotensin more specifically we're talking about Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers or arbs for short do exactly what they sound like these drugs block The receptors for Angiotensin 2 Angiotensin 2 normally works as a powerful vasoconstrictor in the body which is obvious since angio means blood vessel and tensin means to tense or constrict right by blocking Angiotensin arbs allow the blood vessels to vasodilate which lowers the blood pressure blocking Angiotensin also has effects further Downstream in the renin Angiotensin aldosterone system by reducing the production of aldosterone this indirect lowering of aldosterone blocks the reabsorption of sodium and water in the kidneys lowering blood volume both vasod dilation and lowering of blood volume can decrease the blood pressure we'll get back to decreased blood pressure later but it's worth noting that the this mechanism of arbs is pretty similar to that of ACE inhibitors technically ACE inhibitors reduce the production of angiotensin 2 while arbs directly block Angiotensin 2 from achieving its normal effects I wouldn't Focus too much on memorizing the mechanisms here for the enlex but it's worth remembering that these are similar drugs and can be used for many of the same clinical indications all right now that we've covered the fundamentals let's talk about some drug names of the arbs that you should know what kind of devil would block an angel from com ing this young man I should have known it's the shoulder Satan these two always seem to travel around in pairs by the way Satan is our way to remember the sartan ending of all arbs satan for sartan got it the most common arbs you'll see are Lo sartin and Val sartin but on test day if you see another drug name that ends in stin now you'll automatically know that it's an Angiotensin 2 receptor blocker because the Shoulder Angel and shoulder Satan always come together get it all right now let's keep watching to learn when arbs are used with the angel being blocked Satan sure is influencing this young man's actions he's already slashed the tires of this car this car must belong to someone he's angry at can you see the pressure coming out similar to how a deflating Tire represents a lowering of pressure Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers are used to lower blood pressure in treating hypertension we already talked earlier about the mechanism here but let's quick refresh our memory arbs cause vasod dilation and decreased blood volume to lower blood pressure to understand how these affects lower blood pressure think of the blood vessels as a garden hose if you have a wider or dilated hose with less water or less fluid volume going through it the pressure coming out of the end is going to be a lot lower right essentially this is exactly what arbs are doing widening the blood vessels and decreasing the amount of fluid running through them that's how blood pressure decreases pretty easy right so just remember this guy influenced by San I mean Satan to slash this tire causing it to lose its pressure to remember that arbs treat hypertension poor guy his girlfriend just broke up with him through this letter I guess that explains why he's so upset because he's heartbroken he's ripped the letter in half right through the heart this ripped heart is our symbol for heart failure another common clinical use for Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers ripped heart for heart failure got that by allowing vasod dilation of the blood vessels and lowering blood pressure arbs decrease the hearts afterload to refresh afterload refers to the pressure that the heart has to overcome or push against with each beat decreasing the afterload reduces the work of the heart which leads to a survival benefit over time in patients with heart failure before we close let's talk really quick about some side effects to be aware of with arbs if we go back to our deflating Tire we'll remember that arbs work to reduce blood pressure in the body it's also important to note that a side effect of arbs is hypotension or lowering the blood pressure too much if you take care of a patient on arbs be sure to closely monitor their blood pressure and advise them to stand up slowly to avoid dizziness associated with orthostatic hypotension apparently slashing these tires wasn't punishment enough now the young man is walking towards her car with a tarantula to drop inside no wonder why Satan is cheering here at Pixar eyes a tarantula is our symbol for teratogenesis because they sound so similar it's the teratogenic tarantula Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers can cause birth defects like renal and cardiac malformation in the fetus so these drugs are contraindicated during pregnancy now let's pivot back to our blocked Angel who was trying to cheer up our guy if only the angel could get through this man could really use a frozen banana to calm him down and cheer him up because everyone likes cold sweet things when they're sad right looks looks like our Angels snagged a treat from that frozen banana stand over there in hopes of cheering up our guy by the way bananas are our requiring symbol for potassium since bananas have a lot of potassium right so this banana here should remind you of hyper calmia or Hy potassium arbs can cause hyperkalemia as another side effect the mechanism here is beyond the scope of the inlex but in a nutshell lowering of aldosterone levels reduces the excretion of potassium in the kidney hyperkalemia is a really important side effect since high pottassium levels can cause cardiac arrhythmias so you can anticipate that you will be closely monitoring the potassium levels of patients taking arbs lastly it's worth noting that arbs do not have some of the side effects that affect patients taking ACE inhibitors I'm talking about cough or angioedema side effects seen with ACE inhibitors but not with arbs this is why in a clinical context you'll often see arbs prescribed to patients who can't tolerate the side effects of ACE inhibitors just know that arbs have relatively fewer side effects compared to ACE inhibitors now let's review and get out of here while our cars are still intact Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers or arbs for short are a class of medication that end in stin like Val sartin or lartin these medications are used to treat hypertension and heart failure especially in patients who can't tolerate ACE inhibitors side effects to watch for include hypotension and Hyper calmia arbs are teratogenic and should not be used during pregnancy and that's it for this video when you see a question about Angiotensin 2 receptor blockers on test day remember the Shoulder Angel and shoulder Satan to come back to this scene and you'll be good to go I'll see you in the next [Music] one thanks for watching for more videos like this one subscribe to our Channel and check out our newest lessons for more resources on this topic including fact list lists and interactive review images click the image next to the more here Arrow I'll see you next time