Hemodynamic and therapeutic effects of intravenous dopamine

The effects of intravenous dopamine were evaluated in 10 patients with severe but stable coronary artery disease, 17 consecutive patients with primary cardiogenic shock and 3 with severe congestive heart failure and oliguria. Dopamine infusion at 10 mug/kg.min in the 10 patients increased cardiac output by 35%, left ventricular peak dP/dt by 38%, left ventricular minute work index by 44% and mean systolic ejection rate by 7% (P < 0.01); heart rate, aortic pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and tension-time index were unchanged. For oxygen, potassium and lactate, arterial and coronary sinus values, coronary arteriovenous oxygen differences and myocardial extraction were unchanged. Hemodynamically 13 of the 17 patients in shock responded favourably to dopamine infusion (0.5 to 15 mug/kg.min), with decrease in heart rate, increase in systolic arterial pressure from 75 to 100 mm Hg (P <0.001), decrease in ventricular filling pressure from 20 to 16 mm Hg (P < 0.01) and increase in urine output from 10 to 100 ml/h (P < 0.01). Eleven of those patients survived the shock episode. A close relation was observed between the hemodynamic response to dopamine, survival from the shock episode and the time between onset of shock and initiation of therapy. Low rates of dopamine infusion induced diuresis in the three patients with severe cardiac failure.Dopamine thus seems to improve the mechanical efficiency of the heart in coronary artery disease. Cardiac output is selectively increased and myocardial ischemia does not appear to be induced; those beneficial effects as well as presumably specific action on renal flow and natriuresis, improve immediate survival from cardiogenic shock and severe heart failure.