Epinephrine is an injected medicine used to treat severe allergic reactions, breathing problems, and cardiac arrest.
Epinephrine:
- Narrows the blood vessels, which raises blood pressure. This may prevent the severe low blood pressure that occurs during a severe allergic reaction.
- Stops leakage of fluids from blood vessels into body tissues.
- Relaxes the muscles of the respiratory tract, relieving wheezing and breathing difficulty.
- Increases the heart rate.
A severe or fatal stroke, heart irregularity, or heart attack can occur if the wrong dose of epinephrine is mistakenly injected into a blood vessel or if an overdose is given.