In tachycardia-induced heart failure (HF), positive lusitropic effects of milrinone or dobutamine were assessed by evaluating the time constant of left ventricular (LV) pressure decay (tau) and Ca(2+)-ATPase activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). The peak value of the positive first derivative of LV pressure (+dP/dt) was less increased, either by dobutamine (2-10 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1)...

Sato, Naoki, Kuniya Asai, Satoshi Okumura, Gen Takagi, Richard P. Shannon, Yoko Fujita-Yamaguchi, Yoshihiro Ishikawa, Stephen F. Vatner, and Dorothy E. Vatner. Mechanisms of desensitization to a PDE inhibitor (milrinone) in conscious dogs with heart failure. Am. J. Physiol. 276 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 45): H1699–H1705, 1999.— The goal of this study was to determine the extent to which the effects...

PURPOSE To evaluate the effect of milrinone on diastolic function during coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). METHODS Fifty patients undergoing CABG were randomized to receive a bolus and infusion of milrinone or placebo before cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) until skin closure. Hemodynamic and transesophageal echocardiographic measurements of systolic and diastolic function were obta...

BACKGROUND During coronary anastomosis in off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (OPCAB), hemodynamic alternations can be induced by impaired diastolic function of the right ventricle. This study was designed to examine the effect of milrinone on right ventricular function and early outcomes in patients undergoing OPCAB. METHODS Forty patients undergoing OPCAB were randomly assigned in a dou...

Lin, Hung-Yun, Paul M. Yen, Faith B. Davis, and Paul J. Davis. Protein synthesis-dependent potentiation by thyroxine of antiviral activity of interferon-g. Am. J. Physiol. 273 (Cell Physiol. 42): C1225–C1232, 1997.—We have studied the prenuclear signal transduction pathway by which thyroid hormone potentiates the antiviral activity of human interferon-g (IFN-g) in HeLa cells, which are deficien...

Cover illustration " Weighing of the Heart " from chapter 125 of " the Book of the Dead " , a famous papyrus from the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt, dated around 1250 BC. Second thoughts Tage Danielsson from " Thoughts from the root " (1974) I believe in doubt. Doubt is the basis of all knowledge and the engine of all change. Doubt is, to make doubly sure, the prerequisite of...

BACKGROUND Patients with poor left ventricular function often require inotropic drug support immediately after cardiopulmonary bypass. Levosimendan improves cardiac function by a novel mechanism of action compared to currently available drugs. We hypothesized that, in patients with severely compromised ventricular function, the use of levosimendan would be associated with better postoperative c...

The use of nesiritide in the improvement of patient hemodynamics, decreased length of stay (LOS), and rehospitalization is discussed. Nesiritide is a useful agent for the treatment of the acutely decompensated heart failure patient. Previous trials suggest that the use of nesiritide results in improved outcomes as compared with other agents. To date, there are no data comparing nesiritide to mi...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate whether adding a low-dose β1-blocker to milrinone improves cardiac function in failing cardiomyocytes and the underlying cardioprotective mechanism. BACKGROUND The molecular mechanism underlying how the combination of low-dose β1-blocker and milrinone affects intracellular Ca(2+) handling in heart failure remains unclear. METHODS We in...

BACKGROUND We sought to determine whether empirical nesiritide or milrinone would improve the early postoperative course after Fontan surgery. We hypothesized that compared with milrinone or placebo, patients assigned to receive nesiritide would have improved early postoperative outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS In a single-center, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, multi-arm paralle...