Immediate haemodynamic effects of prenalterol, a new adrenergic beta-1-receptor agonist, in healthy volunteers.

The acute haemodynamic effects of prenalterol, a selective adrenergic beta-1-receptor agonist, were studied in eight healthy male volunteers. Prenalterol was administered i.v. in five increasing doses to a cumulative dose of 5.55 mg. After the last dose of prenalterol, three doses of the selective adrenergic beta-1-receptor antagonist metoprolol were administered i.v. to a cumulative dose of 17.5 mg. After each dose, cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), systolic time intervals (STI) and forearm blood flow (FBF) were determined. Prenalterol had the following effects: CO was significantly increased by 21.0% after the fourth dose, but the fifth dose did not further change CO. SV was unchanged after the first four doses, but after the fifth dose a significant decrease in SV of 7.0% was seen. Mean BP was increased significantly by 7.7%, but diastolic BP remained unchanged. HR was increased by 28.4%. Total peripheral resistance was reduced by 8.8%. STI were reduced significantly after the second dose, which indicates that prenalterol has a positive inotropic action. FBF was increased significantly after the fourth dose. After the third dose of metoprolol, the CO, SV, means BP, HR, STI and FBF had returned to their control values. It is concluded that prenalterol has positive inotropic and chronotropic effects on the myocardium, and that metoprolol is a specific antidote.