Acute hemodynamic effects of hexamethonium in normotensive man.

THE INCREASING clinical use of hexamethonium, a ganglion blocking agent, makes desirable a detailed knowledge of its acute hemodynamic effects in normotensive man. Recent work on dogs' indicates that the hexamethonium-induced fall in arterial pressure is accompanied by significant decrease in cardiac output with increase in the calculated total peripheral resistance. Accordingly, the authors concluded that the decrease in arterial pressure was due to the reduction in the cardiac output. Such findings require confirmation in humans. The present investigation was designed to serve this purpose.