hemodynamic effects of intravenous norepinephrine versus epinephrine and phenylephrine in patients with ischemic heart disease

ABSTRACT

The hemodynamic effects of an intravenous bolus of norepinephrine 10 micro g. phenylephrine 100 micro g and epinephrine 10 micro g were investigated in 30 patients scheduled for coronary artery bypass grafting. The hemodynamic changes following norepinephrine were similar to those achieved by phenylephrine. Both drugs increased the mean blood pressure and systemic vascular resistance without any significant change of cardiac output. In contrast, epinephrine increased the mean arterial pressure and cardiac output without a significant change of systemic vascular resistance. The results suggest that intravenous norepinephririe acts similar to phenylephrine an alpha-adrenergic agonist, while epinephrine acts predominantly as a beta-adrenergic agonist