The Safety and Efficacy of Intravenous Enalaprilat In Acute Cardiogenic Pulmonary Edema

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors which have been used for the treatment of chronic congestive heart failure, can also be used for the treatment of acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema. In this condition, patients are hemodynamically unstable and have high renin levels. The studies in this area are limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravenous enalaprilat in patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema. The study was performed in 12 patients (7 men, 5 women; mean age 57.2±7.4 years) with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema due to dilated cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, hypertensive heart disease or coronary and/or hypertensive heart disease. Hemodynamic and elinical parameters were measured and evaluated before and 1 O minutes after infusion of enalaprilat. Enalaprilat increased cardiac output, cardiac index and stroke volume (pKeywords: Acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema, enalaprilat, hemodynamic effects.