Sodium Nitroprusside for Advanced Low-Output Heart Failure

Sodium Nitroprusside for Advanced Low-Output Heart Failure Wilfried Mullens, Zuheir Abrahams, Gary S. Francis, Hadi N. Skouri, Randall C. Starling, James B. Young, David O. Taylor, W. H. Wilson Tang Inotropic drugs are often preferred over vasodilators in patients with end-stage, low-output heart failure. We reviewed consecutive patients admitted between 2000 and 2005 with acute decompensated heart failure with a cardiac index ≤2 l/min/m2 . Compared with control patients, treatment with sodium nitroprusside was associated with greater improvement in hemodynamics, higher rates of transitioning oral vasodilators at discharge, and lower rates of all-cause mortality and all-cause mortality/cardiac transplant without increase in rehospitalization, inotropic use, or worsening renal function.