Amipaque in coronary angiography.

Comparative studies between Isopaque Coronar and Amipaque with equal concentration of iodine (370 mg I/ml), have been carried out in more than 130 patients. Hemodynamic and electrocardiographic registrations before, during and after selective coronary angiography showed that the diastolic blood pressure and heart rate decreased significantly less with Amipaque, while no significant differences were observed in various ECG parameters. Interestingly, it was observed that the left coronary artery contrast transit time was longer when using Amipaque. This phenomenon may reflect a difference between ionic and nonionic contrast media, but also a difference in viscosity. The quality of the angiograms was the same irrespectively of the contrast medium used.