The cardiovascular effects of neuroleptanaesthesia.

Oxygen uptake, cardiac output, stroke volume and arterial and central blood pressures were measured before and after induction of neuroleptanaesthesia in 27 subjects. Nine were elderly patients operated on for obliterative arteriosclerotic disease, and the other 18--nine elderly and nine younger patients--underwent operation for varicose veins. Cardiac output, stroke volume and systolic arterial blood pressure decreased significantly with a corresponding decrease in oxygen uptake. The changes were most pronounced in the patients with arteriosclerotic disease. The arterio-venous oxygen difference was unchanged in the arteriosclerotics and decreased in the other two groups. The central pressures remained unchanged in all groups. It is concluded that the cardiovascular changes induced by neuroleptanaesthesia are due to a decrease in oxygen uptake and not to myocardial depression.