title: [Captopril therapy in chronic congestive heart failure].
abstract: Acute and chronic effects of captopril (C) were studied in 14 patients (12 males, 2 females; mean age 56 +/- 15 years) with chronic congestive heart failure (CCHF) refractory to digitalis and diuretics. All patients underwent hemodynamic evaluation before and after increasing doses of C (6.25-100 mg). Nine patients were evaluated during long term therapy by means of clinical examination, exercise testing, chest-X-ray and echocardiography. After C the following acute haemodynamic changes were observed. Mean right atrial pressure: -25% (p less than 0.01), left ventricular filling pressure: -22% (p less than 0.01), mean systemic arterial pressure: -15% (p less than 0.01), systemic vascular resistance: -31% (p less than 0.01), cardiac index: +36% (p less than 0.01). Of the 9 patients who were evaluated during long term C treatment, 7 (group A, mean follow up 6.4 +/- 4.2 months) improved in 1 or 2 NYHA functional classes and showed an increased exercise tolerance during the first 3-6 months of therapy. In this period, however, two sudden deaths and one drop-out were observed. Moreover, after the seventh month two patients of this group deteriorated clinically. Two patients (group B) developed a progressively weight gain during the first 15 days of C treatment. In the majority of our patients with refractory CCHF, captopril improves cardiac performance in the acute phase and in the first 3-6 months of therapy. Controlled studies and longer follow up are needed to understand better the long term effects of C in CCHF patients.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002216:Captopril / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004452:Echocardiography; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011392:Proline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D011392:Proline; D002216:Captopril
vernacular_title: Il captopril nella terapia dello scompenso cardiaco congestizio cronico.