[Mode of action of cardiovascular drugs. Echocardiographic studies (author's transl)]

Echocardiography--combined with additional non-invasive methods--has proved a sensitive tool for measuring hemodynamic and left ventricular function parameters. This study was undertaken to measure by these methods the effect of digoxin, isoproterenol, of the beta-receptorblocker sotalol, sodium nitroprusside and isosorbide dinitrate on the hemodynamics and left ventricular contractility in various patients and normal volunteers. Besides the good reproducibility of results of recent invasive investigations, partly in animal experiments, new aspects about the mode of action of the individual substances were obtained.