verapamil
/vəˈrapəmɪl
/noun [mass noun] Medicine
A synthetic compound which acts as a calcium antagonist and is used to treat angina pectoris and cardiac arrhythmias.The patient was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, verapamil and digoxin, and oxygen, and anticoagulation was adjusted....
- If the fibrillation continues, the response of the ventricle can be slowed by beta blockers, verapamil or digitalis.
- Her 54-year-old husband had hypertension treated with sustained-release verapamil.
Origin
1960s: from v(al)er(onitr)il(e) (from valeric acid + nitrile), with the insertion of -apam- (of unknown origin).