[Hemodynamic shifts in patients with congestive heart failure during treatment with sodium nitroprusside]

Hemodynamic effects of sodium nitroprussid were studied in 21 patients with congestive heart failure. Nitroprussid reduced systemic arterial pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance, and increased cardiac index and left-ventricular stroke performance index, thus reducing the pre- and post-load of the left ventricle and improving its functional capacity.