ABSTRACT
Cardiodepressive side effects of angiocardiography can be reduced by using non-ionic metrizamide (Amipaque) or adding calcium to diatrizoate (Urografin 76%). In 15 patients with coronary artery disease undergoing heart catheterization, we compared cardiac side effects of coronary angiography and left ventricular angiography using metrizamide and diatrizoate with and without additional calcium (11.3 mmol/l) as contrast media under randomized conditions. In selective intracoronary injection with diatrizoate alone, peak left ventricular pressure and contractility (dP/dtmax) showed a fall of 30 +/- 11% and 31 +/- 15% (n = 33 injections). Using diatrizoate with added calcium (11.3 mmol/l), the fall was only 23 +/- 12% and 20 +/- 10% respectively (n = 31 injections). With metrizamide (n = 32 injections) cardiac side effects are even less and the decrease in pressure and contractility only 13 +/- 10% and 7 +/- 7% respectively, which its highly significant (p less than 0.0001) compared with the effect of diatrizoate. The heartrate slowing, not essentially altered by calcium addition, was minimal using non-ionic metrizamide. In left ventricular angiography, the pressure fall in the late phase after injection of diatrizoate, caused by decrease peripheral vascular resistance (vasodilation), was lacking when injecting metrizamide (p less than 0.001). Metrizamide has even less cardiodepressive side effects than diatrizoate with additional calcium when used in angiocardiography and seems to be suitable particularly for the evaluation of high risk patients.
