Oral Nifedipine in the Long-Term Management of Severe Chronic Heart Failure

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Summary We evaluated the hemodynamic effects of nifedipine in 10 symptomatic patients with chronic refractory heart failure due to idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Nifedipine significantly increased cardiac index (from 1.80 ± 0.4 to 3 ± 0.6 L min/m2), stroke volume index (from 21 ± 6 to 33 ± 8 ml/beat/m2), and stroke work index (from 17.9 ± 7 to 25.5 ± 7 g-m/m2). The drug also produced a significant decrease in left ventricular tilling pressure (from 24.6 ± 3 to 19 ± 2 mm Hg), mean blood pressure (from 86 ± 9 to 74 ± 5 mm Hg), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (from 31.9 ± 5 to 25.6 ± 3 mm Hg), total systemic vascular resistance (from 2.104 ± 329 to 1.088 ± 249 dyn/s/cm 5), and pulmonary vascular resistance (from 200 ± 71 to 107 ± 50 dyn/s/cm 5). Heart rate remained unchanged. In all patients maintained on nifedipine therapy, repeat hemodynamic studies at 2 months revealed sustained effects, and all patients had symptomatic improvement of at least one New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class. Long-term treatment was well tolerated. Forty-eight hours after discontinuation of nifedipine administration the hemodynamic benefits were lost. We conclude that nifedipine may be of value for long-term ambulatory therapy of severe chronic heart failure.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: