Comparative effect of procainamide and lidocaine on myocardial contractility

Abstract
The effect of procainamide and lidocaine on myocardial contractility was studied in an isovolumic isolated rat heart perfusion preparation following the Langendorff technique. As a measure of myocardial contractility, the left ventricular intracavitary pressure and maximum dp/dt were determined and were found to be depressed proportionately to the dose of these agents. At the same concentration, lidocaine showed a more negative inotropic effect than procainamide (although the former seems clinically innocuous at therapeutic doses). In addition, procainamide produced in about one-half of the experiments a biphasic effect characterized by a slight transitory positive inotropic effect followed by a negative inotropic effect.

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