RT Book, Section A1 Zastrow, Mark von A2 Katzung, Bertram G. A2 Vanderah, Todd W. SR Print(0) ID 1176461337 T1 Drug Receptors & Pharmacodynamics T2 Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 15e YR 2021 FD 2021 PB McGraw-Hill PP New York, NY SN 9781260452310 LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1176461337 RD 2024/03/19 AB CASE STUDYA 51-year-old man presents to the emergency department due to acute difficulty breathing. The patient is afebrile and normotensive but anxious, tachycardic, and markedly tachypneic. Auscultation of the chest reveals diffuse wheezes. The physician provisionally makes the diagnosis of bronchial asthma and administers epinephrine by intramuscular injection, improving the patient’s breathing over several minutes. A normal chest X-ray and electrocardiogram are subsequently obtained, and the medical history is remarkable only for mild hypertension that is being treated with propranolol. The physician instructs the patient to discontinue use of propranolol, and changes the patient’s antihypertensive medication to verapamil. Why is the physician correct to discontinue propranolol? Why is verapamil a better choice for managing hypertension in this patient? What alternative treatment change might the physician consider?