Acute circulatory effects of dopamine in patients with pulmonary hypertension

Twenty-one patients, 11 with normal pulomonary artery pressures and 10 with pulmonary hypertension, had haemodynamic measurements performed before and during dopamine infusion while undergoing cardiac catheterization, in order to evaluate the circulatory effects of dopamine in pulmonary hypertension. In both groups on average, heart rate, pulmonary artery mean pressure, aortic mean pressure, and cardiac index increased significantly, while systemic vascular resistance fell significantly during dopamine administration. In neither group did the average pulmonary vascular resistance or right ventricular end-diastolic pressure change significantly. We conclude that dopamine is a safe and potentially useful drug for the treatment of reduced cardiac output, even in patients with pulmonary hypertension.