Improvement by trapidil of cardiac function of the dog heart-lung preparation depressed by pentobarbital.

The effect of trapidil on depressed cardiac function was investigated in 5 dog heart-lung preparations. Trapidil at a dose of 60 mg improved cardiac function which had been severely depressed by 70 +/- 32 (S.D.) mg of sodium pentobarbital. This dose of trapidil, however, produced no significant increase in heart rate. The results suggest that trapidil would be useful in the treatment of heart failure.