Haemodynamic effects of salbutamol in patients needing circulatory support after open-heart surgery

The effects of substituting an infusion of salbutamol for isoprenaline were studied in 12 patients needing circulatory support after valve replacement surgery. The cardiac output rose while the heart rate remained unaltered. There was a reduction in systemic vascular resistance, and though the oxygen uptake tended to rise the increase in cardiac output was proportionately greater so that the arteriovenous oxygen difference fell.It is suggested that the drug is of value for two reasons. It causes a selective reduction in peripheral arteriolar resistance, which avoids peripheral pooling, but permits limited myocardial work to be used to generate flow rather than pressure, and the increase in cardiac output is not accompanied by a corresponding rise in oxygen uptake.