Hemodynamic effects of labetalol in the dog. Comparative study in the anesthetized open-chest dog and in the conscious dog.

Hemodynamic effects of labetalol, an alpha- and beta-adrenoceptor blocking drug, were investigated in the conscious dog and in the anesthetized open-chest dog. In the conscious dog, intravenous injection of labetalol, in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg, decreased the total peripheral resistance by approximately 20% (P less than 0.01) in association with falls in blood pressure and heart rate. The total peripheral resistance of the anesthetized open-chest dog was not affected by labetalol in the presence of the same extent of blood pressure fall as results of the conscious dog. In contrast, agents which have beta-adrenoceptor blocking effect alone provided substantial elevation of the total peripheral resistance in the anesthetized dog. These results indicate that the different responses of the resistance to labetalol probably result from the vascular alpha-adrenoceptor blocking action, and also show that in the conscious state alpha-adrenoceptor blocking action of labetalol is enhanced in comparison with the effect in the anesthetized open-chest dog.