Abstract
Background: Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) is frequently elevated in patients with advanced heart failure. Nitric oxide (NO), which contributes to the activity of endothelium-derived relaxing factor, causes relaxation of pulmonary arteries and veins in vitro. Inhalation of NO gas causes pulmonary vasodilation in patients with primary and secondary forms of pulmonary hypertension. Methods and Results: To test the hypothesis that inhalation of NO gas lowers PVR in patients with heart failure, we studied the hemodynamic effects of a 10-minute inhalation of NO (80 ppm) in 19 patients with New York Heart Association class III (n=5) and class IV (n=14) heart failure due to left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Although inhalation of NO had no effect on pulmonary artery pressures, the PVR decreased by 31±7% (P
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2780-2785 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Circulation |
| Volume | 90 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| State | Published - Dec 1994 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- endothelium-derived factors
- heart failure
- lung
- nitric oxide
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physiology
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine