Dopamine receptors and the cardiovascular system

The relatively high levels of dopamine compared with those of noradrenaline found in many tissues, together with the wide distribution of dopamine receptors in the periphery, suggest that the amine may have important physiological functions, and may act as a neurotransmitter in its own right. Compounds which selectively stimulate vascular and neuronal dopamine receptors, decrease vascular resistance in the mesenteric, renal and coronary vascular beds, inhibit sympathetic ganglionic transmission and decrease transmitter efflux from certain noradrenergic neurones may prove effective in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and serve, in addition, as useful pharmacological tools.