Cardiovascular effects of dopamine in the normal and failing heart of experimental animals
Alousi, A.A.
Recent Advances in Studies on Cardiac Structure and Metabolism 6: 291-300
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0363-5872 PMID: 1197888 Document Number: 84453
Dopamine exerts marked positive inotropic effects in the dog with no effect on heart rate. This effect is abolished by propranolol, reduced by reserpine, and unaffected by atropine. Dopamine exhibits similar inotropic activity in the normal guinea pig and in guinea pigs with experimentally induced heart failure. In the isolated perfused hamster heart, dopamine caused marked increases in left ventricular pressure with slight increases in heart rate. However, in the failing heart of the myopathic Syrian hamster, dopamine caused moderate increases in left ventricular pressure with much greater increases in heart rate. The total heart work of the failing heart under the influence of dopamine is significantly higher than that of the normal heart. The energy utilization under this condition is equal in both hearts. Therefore, the calculated efficiency of the failing heart treated with dopamine is much higher than that of the normal heart treated similarly.