calcium blocker

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Explanation of "Calcium Blocker"

Definition:
A calcium blocker is a type of medicine that helps control how calcium flows in the body. Calcium is an important mineral that helps your heart and muscles work properly. Calcium blockers are used to treat various health issues, especially related to the heart and blood vessels.

Examples:

1. Basic Example:
   "The doctor prescribed a calcium blocker to help manage my high blood pressure."

2. Advanced Example:
   "Calcium blockers can reduce the workload on the heart by relaxing the blood vessels, which helps lower blood pressure and can alleviate symptoms of angina."

Word Variants:

• Calcium Channel Blocker: This is another name for calcium blockers, emphasizing how they work by blocking calcium channels in cells.

Different Meanings:

In a medical context, calcium blocker specifically refers to the drugs that affect the flow of calcium. However, outside of medicine, the word "blocker" can refer to anything that prevents or obstructs something else, like a "blocker" in sports that protects a player.

Synonyms:

• Calcium channel blocker
• Antihypertensive (referring to its effect on blood pressure)
• Vasodilator (because they help widen blood vessels)

Related Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

While there are no specific idioms related to "calcium blocker," you might hear phrases like: - "Block it out": This means to ignore something or prevent it from affecting you, but it’s not directly related to the medical term.

Summary:

In summary, a calcium blocker is a medication that helps manage conditions like high blood pressure and heart problems by controlling the flow of calcium in the body.

Academic

Noun

1. any of a class of drugs that block the flow of the electrolyte calcium (either in nerve cell conduction or smooth muscle contraction of the heart); has been used in the treatment of angina or arrhythmia or hypertension or migraine

Synonyms

• calcium-channel blocker