Cardiovascular effects of various anesthetics in man. Four short-acting intravenous anesthetics: althesin, etomidate, methohexital and propanidid.

Four groups of 15 patients without any cardiovascular or pulmonary pathology received an intravenous injection of one of the 4 studied anesthetics, Althesin (0.07 ml/kg), Methohexital (1.6 mg/kg), Etomidate 0.15 mg/kg) or Propanidid (6 mg/kg). Arterial pressure, heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output were measured every thirty or sixty seconds. Stroke volume decreased and heart rate increased with all of them, but most of all with Propanidid. The only statistically significant reduction of cardiac output was observed with Althesin. Arterial pressures did not vary. Under the conditions of the present study and at the dose levels mentioned, Etomidate produced the least changes in cardiac parameters.