Treatment FAQ

which agent is considered the inotrope of choice in the treatment of acute heart failure?

by Ms. Laurence Koch PhD Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Digoxin is the only oral positive inotropic agent available for long-term ambulatory use in the United States. Management of acute decompensated HF and an overview of therapy of HFrEF is presented separately.May 19, 2020

What is the role of inotropes in the management of advanced heart failure?

Nov 02, 2019 · Milrinone, a PDE3 inhibitor, is a commonly used inotropic agent in patients with severe HF or cardiogenic shock. [ 7] It inhibits PDE3, which physiologically degrades intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Through this inhibition, cAMP accumulates in the cell, causing protein kinase A activation.

What are inotrope inhibitors?

Nov 19, 2020 · Inotropes are pharmacological agents that are indicated for the treatment of patients presenting with acute heart failure (AHF) with concomitant hypoperfusion due to decreased cardiac output. They are usually administered for a short period during the initial management of AHF until haemodynamic stabilisation and restoration of peripheral ...

Which inotropic agents are used in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AHF)?

The inappropriate use of inotropic agents is one the most common pitfalls shown by registries. Two to 10% of patients admitted for acute heart failure present with a low output syndrome, a clinical profile associated with high mortality, where inotropes may be a …

What is the role of inotropic agents in cardiopulmonary arrest?

Inotropes may be a necessary evil in a subset of acute heart failure patients, such as those with acute heart failure decompensation in the setting of clinically evident hypoperfusion or shock, or as a bridge to more definitive treatment, such as revascularization or cardiac transplantation.

Which of the following is best inotrope drug used in right heart failure?

Milrinone is a widely used positive inotropic agent in patients with end-stage heart failure and cardiogenic shock [28].Dec 4, 2015

Which drug is used in the management of acute heart failure?

Diuretics remain the cornerstone of standard therapy for acute heart failure. In such patients, IV administration of a loop diuretic (ie, furosemide, bumetanide, torsemide) is preferred initially because of potentially poor absorption of the oral form in the presence of bowel edema.

Which one of the following agents is an inotrope?

The principal inotropic agents are dopamine, dobutamine, inamrinone (formerly amrinone), milrinone, dopexamine, and digoxin. In patients with hypotension who present with CHF, dopamine and dobutamine usually are employed.Apr 7, 2020

What is the role of inotropes in acute heart failure?

Inotropes increase cardiac output mainly by enhancing cardiac contractility. Inotropes indicated for heart failure are beta-agonists, milrinone, levosimendan. Inotropes should only be used in low-output acute or advanced heart failure. Identifying patients with low-output heart failure is often challenging.Dec 15, 2019

What is the first drug of choice for heart failure?

Digoxin has been the traditional first drug of choice for CHF, but with protracted controversy about its efficacy and safety. It is hope that new agents as vesnarione, and ibopamine may improve contractility without having adverse consequences.

What is the best treatment for heart failure?

Surgery. Medicines are the main treatment for heart failure, but for some people surgery may help. Operations that can help with heart failure include: heart valve surgery.

Which are inotropic drugs?

Inotropic Agentsamrinone.digoxin.dobutamine.dopamine.inamrinone.Intropin.Lanoxin.milrinone.

Is norepinephrine an inotropic agent?

Noradrenaline. Noradrenaline (also known as norepinephrine) is an inotrope and a vasopressor (Levick, 2003).

Is epinephrine an inotrope?

Norepinephrine and epinephrine are catecholamines with inotropic properties, but are generally classified as vasopressors due to their potent vasoconstrictive effects. Using combinations of agents in moderate doses may be potentially more effective than maximal doses of an individual medication.

What do inotropic agents do?

Inotropic agents, or inotropes, are medicines that change the force of your heart's contractions. There are 2 kinds of inotropes: positive inotropes and negative inotropes. Positive inotropes strengthen the force of the heartbeat. Negative inotropes weaken the force of the heartbeat.

What inotropes are used in heart failure?

Positive inotropic agents used to treat heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) include intravenous phosphodiesterase (PDE)-3 inhibitors (eg, milrinone), beta adrenergic receptor agonists (eg, dobutamine), intravenous calcium-sensitizing agents (eg, levosimendan, available in some countries outside the ...May 19, 2020

How is milrinone an inotrope?

Milrinone inhibits the action of phosphodiesterase in the myocyte, leading to increased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and calcium. It is an inotropic agent that acts downstream from the β-adrenergic receptor.

What are the three inotropic agents that are used for AHF?

Currently available inotropic agents for the management of patients with AHF can fall into three categories, based on their mechanism of action: dopamine, dobutamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine that act as beta-agonists; milrinone, a phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 3 inhibitor; and levosimendan, a calcium sensitiser ( Table 2 ). 6,7

What are inotropes associated with?

Inotropic agents have long been associated with adverse events including arrhythmogenesis and unfavourable long-term mortality outcomes. However, they remain a key weapon in the arsenal of physicians that manage AHF patients, due to the lack of other efficacious medical or interventional strategies. Their use should be limited to the minimum possible dose for the shortest amount of time adequate to restore BP and peripheral perfusion. Ongoing and future research in the field of inotropes aims to assess the safety and efficacy of new molecules that act through novel or alternative pathways to reduce the adverse events profile of inotropes and reduce their negative effect on long-term survival.

What is an inotrope?

Inotropes are pharmacological agents that are indicated for the treatment of patients presenting with acute heart failure (AHF) with concomitant hypoperfusion due to decreased cardiac output. They are usually administered for a short period during the initial management of AHF until haemodynamic stabilisation and restoration ...

How does dopamine affect PCWP?

When administered in intermediate doses of 3–5 µg/kg/min, dopamine exhibits significant chronotropic and inotropic effects primarily by stimulating sarcolemmal beta-1 receptors in cardiomyocytes, but it also increases the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP). When used at higher doses of more than 5 µg/kg/min, its net effect is a potent vasoconstriction, facilitated mostly via its effect on alpha-1 adrenergic receptors of the vasculature. This leads to a significantly elevated afterload that can prove detrimental for patients with AHF and systolic dysfunction. The most notable adverse effects of dopamine include hypertension and tachyarrhythmias that are more frequently encountered at doses of >10 µg/kg/min. 5

Is milrinone a beta blocker?

In addition, milrinone is preferred in patients who chronically receive beta-blockers, due to its beta-adrenergic pathway which is an independent mechanism of action. 21 Due to its relatively long half-life and renal clearance, milrinone should be used with caution in patients with impaired renal function.

What are the effects of dopamine?

The most notable adverse effects of dopamine include hypertension and tachyarrhythmias that are more frequently encountered at doses of >10 µg/kg/min. 5. Dobutamine. Dobutamine, a synthetic catecholamine, enhances cardiac contractility via its stimulatory effect on myocardial beta-1 receptors.

What is norepinephrine used for?

Based on these properties, norepinephrine is primarily used in patients with AHF who present with cardiogenic shock , always in addition to another more potent inotropic agent. Norepinephrine is also used in combination with inodilators to prevent the development of hypotension. 1.

What is the effect of phosphodiesterase inhibitors on myocardial contractility?

Phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDIs) increase the level of cAMP by inhibiting its breakdown within the cell, which leads to increased myocardial contractility ( Figure 4 ). These agents are potent inotropes and vasodilators and also improve diastolic relaxation (lusitropy), thus reducing preload, afterload, and SVR.

What is the best resuscitation agent for cardiac arrest?

Inotropic and vasopressor agents are a mainstay of resuscitation therapy during cardiopulmonary arrest. 53 Epinephrine, with its potent vasopressor and inotropic properties, can rapidly increase diastolic blood pressure to facilitate coronary perfusion and help restore organized myocardial contractility. However, it is not clear whether epinephrine actually facilitates cardioversion to normal rhythm, and its use has been associated with increased oxygen consumption, ventricular arrhythmias, and myocardial dysfunction after successful resuscitation. 54 Repeated high-bolus doses (5 mg) appear no more effective than repeated standard doses (1 mg) at restoring circulation. 55

Why is continuous blood pressure monitoring important?

In shock, continuous blood pressure monitoring with an arterial line is essential both to monitor the status of the underlying illness and because inotropes and vasopressors have the potential to induce life-threatening hypotension or hypertension .

What is the precursor to norepinephrine?

Dopamine. Dopamine, an endogenous central neurotransmitter, is the immediate precursor to norepinephrine in the catecholamine synthetic pathway ( Figure 3 A). When administered therapeutically, it acts on dopaminergic and adrenergic receptors to elicit a multitude of clinical effects ( Table ).

Where is vasopressin stored?

Vasopressin. Isolated in 1951, 16 the nonapeptide vasopressin or “antidiuretic hormone” is stored primarily in granules in the posterior pituitary gland and is released after increased plasma osmolality or hypotension, as well as pain, nausea, and hypoxia.

Is isoproterenol a agonist?

Isoproterenol is a potent, nonselective, synthetic β-adrenergic agonist with very low affinity for α-adrenergic receptors ( Table; Figure 3 B). It has powerful chronotropic and inotropic properties, with potent systemic and mild pulmonary vasodilatory effects. Its stimulatory impact on stroke volume is counterbalanced by a β 2 -mediated drop in SVR, which results in a net neutral impact on CO.

Why are inotropes not used in randomized controlled trials?

The use of inotropes and vasopressors has not been shown in randomized, controlled studies to ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes, at least in part because no clinical trials have been conducted with study size and power adequate to test their effect on improving survival. In the absence of such data, the definitive goals of therapy must be considered of primary importance, and the role of inotropic therapy should be kept in a supportive context to allow treatment of the underlying disorder. Such therapy includes prompt percutaneous or surgical revascularization and the institution of mechanical support (intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation or LV assist device) to improve coronary perfusion, CO, or both.

What is systolic heart failure?

Systolic heart failure (HF) is a systemic disease caused by reduced cardiac contractility. Although it would seem logical that this disease could be treated with strategies to directly improve contractility, inotropic therapies in the HF population have universally failed to live up to their expectations. Paradoxically, favorable outcomes can be ...

What is the ejection fraction of a 70 year old man?

A 70-year-old man with advanced prostate cancer and ischemic cardiomyopathy and a left ventricular ejection fraction of 18% is brought to the emergency room after 2 episodes of near syncope. He is somnolent and falls asleep during the interview. He is on very low doses of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and did not tolerate a β-blocker as an outpatient because of low blood pressure. His baseline creatinine is 1.8. His heart rate is paced at 70 bpm, and blood pressure is lower than usual at 72/55 mm Hg. His chest is clear and jugular venous pressure is normal. He has mitral and tricuspid regurgitation murmurs and an S3. His extremities are cool with trace edema, and he is oliguric. Should you start an inotrope?

What is Ca sensitizer?

Ca sensitizers are designed to improve contractility by enhancing binding of Ca to troponin C. One such sensitizer, levosimendan, has been well studied. Although the Levosimendan Infusion Versus Dobutamine in Severe Low-Output Heart Failure (LIDO) study suggested that levosimendan was more effective than dobutamine with fewer adverse effects, 24 the recent Survival of Patients With Acute Heart Failure in Need of Intravenous Inotropic Support (SURVIVE) randomized controlled trial found no significant benefit of levosimendan over dobutamine in patients with acute HF and ejection fraction <30%. 25 This may be due in part to phosphodiesterase inhibition properties of levosimendan. At the present time, levosimendan is not approved in the United States but is available in Europe.

Does istaroxime increase sodium?

Istaroxime is an investigational drug that blocks Na-K ATPase to raise intracellular sodium levels like digoxin but also stimulates SERCA on the SR like a cAMP-mediated inotrope. An initial study (A Phase II Study to Assess the Hemodynamic Effects of Istaroxime, a Novel Lusinotropic Agent, in Patients Hospitalized With Worsening Heart Failure and a Reduced Left Ventricular Systolic Function [HORIZON-HF]) suggested hemodynamic benefit, 26 but 2 larger phase I trials scheduled for enrollment in 2009 were withdrawn. Growth hormone may enhance Ca transients 27 but has had variable results in clinical studies. 28 Thyroid hormone has been shown in animal models to enhance Ca-handling proteins involved in calcium-induced calcium release, and small nonrandomized clinical trials have suggested efficacy with minimal side effects. 29,30 However, outcomes have not been studied in a large randomized controlled trial. The phytopharmaceutical crataegus extract (hawthorn) raises intracellular Ca, prolongs the action potential, and may improve exercise capacity in mild HF. Although widely used in Europe by HF patients as a “natural” remedy, a randomized trial recently showed no benefit. 31 Current and investigational inotropes are summarized in the Table, and an algorithm for appropriate use of inotropes in HF is provided in Figure 2.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9