Amrinone: is it the inotrope of choice?

In the treatment of acute heart failure, conventional therapy with epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and dobutamine may be used effectively to treat inotropic abnormalities. However, the addition of a vasodilator to catecholamine therapy may be needed to help improve lusitropic function. Because it seems to exert positive inotropic and lusitropic effects, the phosphodiesterase inhibitor amrinone may be a valuable addition to the anesthesiologist's armamentarium for the treatment of acute heart failure. When used as adjunctive therapy with catecholamines, amrinone has been shown to exert a significant additive and synergistic effect. Amrinone may also be the inotrope of choice in patients who are refractory to therapy with conventional inotropes, due to its positive inotropic and lusitropic effects, combined with its vasodilating effects. Because of its broad pharmacodynamic spectrum, amrinone may effectively control all of the major elements involved in myocardial performance--preload, afterload, contractility, and heart rate.