[Age-related changes of the systolic and diastolic function of the left ventricle under the action of a beta adrenergic blocker, anaprilin].

Echocardiography was used to study pharmacodynamics of propranolol, a beta-adrenergic blocker, in healthy young, middle-aged and old persons. The expression and duration of a negative effect of propranolol on left ventricular contractility and pump function were shown to increase with age. Propranolol administration resulted in the deterioration of relaxation and change in phase diastolic structure causing a decrease in the contribution of rapid filling and an increase in the contribution of slow filling to left ventricular filling. A degree of shifts grows with age. A decrease in oxygen consumption by the myocardium after 40 mg of propranolol in middle-aged and old persons was accompanied by considerable suppression of contractility and end-systolic volume indicating inappropriateness of a subsequent increase in a single drug dose.