An echocardiographic study of patients with cardiovascular disease during dental treatment using local anesthesia.

The cardiac function of nine patients who had various cardiovascular diseases was investigated by echocardiography during dental treatment in which local anesthetics were administered. The administration of lidocaine with epinephrine enhanced the cardiac output of all patients. Increased heart rate was responsible for the increased cardiac output in four cases, whereas increased stroke volume was responsible in the other five cases. The administration of prilocaine with felypressin caused less of an increase in cardiac function than did lidocaine, with only one patient showing a significant change in cardiac dynamics.