Treatment of hemorrhagic shock in dogs with verapamil: effects on survival and on cardiovascular lesions.

Dogs were subjected to a standardized hemorrhagic shock procedure. Some were treated with verapamil and others were untreated. It was found that the dogs treated with verapamil were protected from the damaging effects of hemorrhagic shock on the heart. This was true even in treated dogs that had a rapid heart rate maintained by means of an intracardiac pacing electrode. In addition, the treated dogs did not show the intestinal hemorrhage that is usually seen in dogs subjected to hemorrhagic shock. Finally, it was found that verapamil treatment increased the survival rate of shocked dogs in comparison with control dogs which were not treated.