Nitrates are chemical compounds containing the nitrate ion, used in medicine to treat heart conditions. High levels can reduce oxygen uptake, and environmental sources include agricultural runoff and industrial wastewater. Some nitrates are used as food preservatives, and glyceryl nitrate is a widely used treatment for chest pain.
Nitrates are chemical compounds that, among other distinguishing characteristics, contain the polyatomic ion nitrate, which is composed of one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms, together having a single net negative charge. Nitrates are commonly seen in the study of inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry. In medicine, nitrates are drugs used to treat heart conditions such as angina and have been in use for over a century.
Many nitrates can be harmful to a person’s health, while others can have a more or less neutral effect. Some are actually used to extend life in emergency medical conditions. If nitrate levels in the blood rise too much, this can in some cases lead to a lack of oxygen uptake by the body. The nitrate ion contains oxygen, and when this part of it binds to the hemoglobin in the blood cells, it prevents elemental oxygen from doing so, reducing the ability of the blood as a whole to carry oxygen. This condition sometimes occurs in infants and children younger than six months. Environmental sources of these types of nitrates can include agricultural runoff containing fertilizers and industrial wastewater.
Some types of nitrates, such as sodium nitrate, are used in food products as a preservative. Their most common use is in meat products to preserve color and inhibit the growth of bacteria that can lead to botulism. It is not known for certain whether these chemicals pose a hazard at levels at which they are normally ingested and are generally considered safe.
The medical profession has used nitrates since at least 1870 to treat chest pain associated with low oxygen supply to the heart. This condition, known as angina, can be relieved by taking nitrates either by mouth or by intravenous injection, because it has the effect of widening blood vessels to allow more blood, and therefore more oxygen, to reach the tissues. They can also be prescribed during a heart attack for the same purpose or in the context of surgery such as angioplasty.
Glyceryl nitrate, an alternative name for nitroglycerin, has been one of the most widely used nitrates for the treatment of chest pain. It was discovered in 1847, and around that time it was known that handling the chemical for long periods of time could cause severe headaches. This indicated that it must somehow widen blood vessels, and a few decades later it began to be used in small doses to treat heart conditions. The headaches, it turned out, were the result of overexposure and did not occur when the chemical was medically administered in adequate doses.
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