Pharmacology and the Nursing Process by Linda Lane Lilley: Practice Exam

For which condition are all vasodilators potentially used?

1. Diabetes

2. Hypertension

3. Hyperlipidemia

4. Asthma

The correct answer is: Hypertension

Vasodilators are medications that widen blood vessels, which can help reduce blood pressure. They work by relaxing the muscles in the walls of your arteries and veins, allowing the vessels to dilate and lower blood pressure. This makes hypertension, or high blood pressure, the condition for which all vasodilators are potentially used. Option A, diabetes, is not typically treated with vasodilators as it is a condition related to blood sugar levels, not blood pressure. Option C, hyperlipidemia, refers to high levels of fat in the blood. While some vasodilators may indirectly help with this condition by improving blood flow, they are not specifically used to treat it. Option D, asthma, does not involve blood pressure and is typically treated with bronchodilators, not vasodilators.