Intravenous nicardipine in patients with chronic heart failure: a nuclear stethoscope study

The effects of intravenous nicardipine (10 mg) on some aspects of left ventricular function have been studied with a radioisotope method in 10 male patients in chronic heart failure (NYHA Class II and III). Blood pressure (mean +/- s.d.) fell from 133 +/- 26/86 +/- 11 mm Hg to 103 +/- 22/69 +/- 13. Heart rate rose from 67 +/- 9 beats per minute to 85 +/- 10. Left ventricular ejection fraction rose from 31 +/- 7% to 38 +/- 6% and relative cardiac output from 24 +/- 9 to 41 +/- 11 (P less than 0.001 in all cases). This suggests that nicardipine has a potent vasodilator effect which results in increased left ventricular pumping activity in patients with mild to moderate heart failure.