Intravenous prenalterol in acute and chronic heart failure.

The new inotropic agent pren lte 01 was admini te in a canine model of acute ischemic heart failure d int and in venously patients witn severe chronic heart failure. Experimental heart failure in anesthetized dogs was induced by two vessel coronary artery constriction and intravenous prenalterol (0.005-15 ug/kg/min) was compared to dobutamine (0.001-30 ug/kg/min) and saline. Significant dose-dependent increases in left ventricular dP/dt cardiac output and non-ischemic zone contractile force and significant reductions in systemic vascular resistance were present during infusions of both inotropic agents. High dose dobutamine caused greater increases in mean arterial pressure and pressure rate product with a trend toward greater increases in heart rate. However, neither inotropic agent significantly improved ischemic zone contractile force. Prenalterol possessed a markedly longer hemodynamic half-life than dobutamine (3.0 hours compared to 1.7 minutes). max '