Sodium nitroprusside as a coronary vasodilator in man: a comparison of the effects of sodium nitroprusside and papaverine hydrochloride on aortocoronary saphenous vein graft flow.

Blood flow in aortocoronary saphenous vein grafts was studied in response to intragraft injection of sodium nitroprusside and papaverine hydrochloride. Following injection of 50 mug of sodium nitroprusside, mean graft flow increased from 40.1 +/- 4.5 to 81.3 +/- 8.5 ml per minute. Administration of 30 mg of papaverine hydrochloride caused mean graft flow to rise from 35.4 +/- 3.9 to 70 +/- 7.9 ml per minute. Sodium nitroprusside increases aortocoronary graft flow, the doubling effect of 50 mug of the drug being of the same order of magnitude as that induced by 30 mg of papaverine hydrochloride.