Which drug is a vasodilator that reduces cardiac workload?

• A. Aspirin
• B. Cardiac Tamponade
• C. Nitroglycerin
• D. Pulmonary Edema

Answer: (C)

Understanding how dilating vessels lowers the heart’s workload helps explain why nitroglycerin fits this description. Nitroglycerin mainly causes venodilation, which reduces venous return to the heart. That lowers the left-ventricular end-diastolic pressure and volume, decreasing wall tension and the heart’s oxygen demand. In larger doses it can also dilate arteries, easing afterload as well. Aspirin isn’t a vasodilator—it's an antiplatelet effect. Cardiac tamponade and pulmonary edema are clinical conditions, not drugs, so they don’t act to reduce cardiac workload through vasodilation.