[Dopamine in patients with cardiogenic shock (author's transl)]

The effect of dopamine was tested in 20 patients with cardiogenic shock. 14 patients suffered from acute myocardial infarction, 6 patients from severe heart failure. In the beginning the dosis of dopamine was 200 to 300 microgram/min. 4 patients with an acute myocardial infarction died in shock. The remaining 10 patients survived the first shock symptomes. All patients with heart failure survived the cardiogenic shock. Hemodynamic studies showed a sigificant increase of the arterial mean pressure and a decrease of the diastolic arterial pulmonary pressure. During dopamine a statistically not significant increase of cardiac index and stroke volume was observed.