Which class of medication does Isosorbide belong to?

Isosorbide is classified as a nitrate, which are medications that primarily work by dilating blood vessels. This vasodilation helps to reduce the workload on the heart and improve blood flow, making nitrates highly effective for managing conditions such as angina pectoris. Angina occurs when the heart muscle does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood, often due to narrowed coronary arteries. By relaxing and widening these blood vessels, nitrates like Isosorbide help alleviate chest pain associated with angina by increasing blood flow to the heart muscle.

In contrast, the other medication classes mentioned serve different roles. ACE inhibitors primarily help manage hypertension and heart failure by preventing the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II, thus relaxing blood vessels. Calcium channel blockers inhibit calcium ion entry into heart and vascular smooth muscle cells, leading to decreased heart contractility and dilation, also used for angina but through a different mechanism. Beta-blockers reduce heart rate and contractility, which decreases oxygen demand but do not directly dilate blood vessels like nitrates do.

Understanding these differences clarifies why Isosorbide, as a nitrate, is effective in treating angina by enhancing blood flow to the heart muscle.