CIRCULATORY AND DIURETIC EFFECTS OF THEOPHYLLINE ISOPROPANOLAMINE

Abstract

THERE is a surprising lack of factual information on which the employment of the xanthine diuretics for patients with cardiac disease may be based.¹ This is no doubt due to the widespread and almost exclusive use of mercurial diuretics in congestive failure of the circulation. The frequently heard opinion that theophylline is a useful adjunct in the treatment of heart disease has made it seem worth while to report studies which we have made on the immediate circulatory action and the diuretic effect of theophylline isopropanolamine,² a soluble salt of theophylline, and an organic base. METHODS To evaluate the immediate circulatory effects of theophylline isopropanolamine, the cardiac output was measured in 15 patients with heart disease before and after administration. The direct Fick procedure was used, with catheterization of the right side of the heart.³ In addition to the cardiac output, the procedures used made available