Loop diuretics are widely used, especially in patients with hypertension or heart failure plus renal dysfunction. Such patients are particularly susceptible to untoward drug effects. It is, therefore, ...

Loop diuretics are widely used in the management of edema and heart failure. They are also widely misunderstood. The reason is this: Loop diuretics are often prescribed in a dose-dependent strategy.

Over time, the retention of sodium leads to crackles, peripheral edema, hepatomegaly with ascites, increased blood volume, and increased cardiac filling pressures. Although diuretics do not directly ...