Which drug is a vasodilator that reduces cardiac workload?

Which drug is a vasodilator that reduces cardiac workload?

• A. Aspirin
• B. Cardiac Tamponade
• C. Nitroglycerin
• D. Pulmonary Edema

Answer: (C)

Understanding how dilating vessels lowers the heart’s workload helps explain why nitroglycerin fits this description. Nitroglycerin mainly causes venodilation, which reduces venous return to the heart. That lowers the left-ventricular end-diastolic pressure and volume, decreasing wall tension and the heart’s oxygen demand. In larger doses it can also dilate arteries, easing afterload as well. Aspirin isn’t a vasodilator—it's an antiplatelet effect. Cardiac tamponade and pulmonary edema are clinical conditions, not drugs, so they don’t act to reduce cardiac workload through vasodilation.

Understanding how dilating vessels lowers the heart’s workload helps explain why nitroglycerin fits this description. Nitroglycerin mainly causes venodilation, which reduces venous return to the heart. That lowers the left-ventricular end-diastolic pressure and volume, decreasing wall tension and the heart’s oxygen demand. In larger doses it can also dilate arteries, easing afterload as well. Aspirin isn’t a vasodilator—it's an antiplatelet effect. Cardiac tamponade and pulmonary edema are clinical conditions, not drugs, so they don’t act to reduce cardiac workload through vasodilation.