Hemodynamic Effects of Isoproterenol in Complete Heart Block

The use of isoproterenol in patients with complete heart block has become an important part of the therapeutic armamentarium. Although Kaufman et al.,1utilizing the ballistocardiograph, have studied the circulatory effects of this drug in normal subjects, there has been only one report concerning the hemodynamic effects of isoproterenol in patients with heart block.2It was thought that further information concerning the effect of this drug in patients with heart block would be of interest. Methods and Materials Six patients with complete heart block and one with 2:1 heart block were studied. These patients varied in age from 15 to 77 years, and six were males. The etiology of the heart block was considered congenital in one patient (Patient 1) and obscure in two patients (Patients 2 and 7), and in the remainder the block was thought to be on the basis of arteriosclerotic heart disease (Table 1).