Hemodynamic effects of mebutamate in spontaneously hypertensive rats

The acute hemodynamic effects of the antihypertensive agent mebutamate were evaluated in spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive Wistar rats. Arterial and venous pressures and cardiac output (electromagnetic flowmeter) were recorded in artificially ventilated, open-chest, ether-anesthetized animals before and after varying doses of mebutamate were injected intravenously. In both normotensive and hypertensive rats mebutamate produced a moderate decrease in arterial pressure which was associated with a reduction in both heart rate and cardiac output; total peripheral resistance remained unchanged. These data suggest that mebutamate may have therapuetic value in reducing arterial pressure in mild to moderately severe hypertensive patients.