Does an intravenous bolus of milrinone decrease pulmonary vascular resistance in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension?
An intravenous bolus of milrinone is a rapid, well-tolerated test for the reversibility of pulmonary hypertension in patients with severe heart failure awaiting transplantation.
Bolus milrinone consistently decreases PVR in patients with pulmonary hypertension secondary to severe heart failure. This effect is rapid in onset and well tolerated, even by patients with low systemic arterial pressure. An intravenous bolus of milrinone can be used to test for the reversibility of pulmonary hypertension in patients with heart failure undergoing evaluation for heart transplantation.
Givertz et al. (Sun,) studied this question.