[Use of sympathomimetic agents in the treatment of acute circulatory insufficiency in the immediate postoperative period of heart surgery patients].

Sympathomimetic agents: isoproterenol (novodrin), dopamine, noradrenalin, adrenalin were used in 137 patients with acute circulatory insufficiency. Their hemodynamic effects were assessed, using catheterization of heart chambers and radiocardiography, and studies of circulating blood oxygen transport, acid-base state and metabolic product levels. A differential approach to sympathomimetic treatment has been developed. Isoproterenol is primarily indicated in those cases where myocardial failure is combined with decreased heart rate, conductivity disorders and markedly increased total peripheral resistance. Dopamine is more justified in cases where increasing the heart rate is more desirable, and there are signs of renal failure and heart rhythm disorders. The possibility of dopamine-induced pulmonary hypertension and pO2 fall should not be dismissed. Correct choice of an agent or a combination of agents makes it possible to control the patient's condition through action on various hemodynamic mechanisms that determine the magnitude of cardiac output.