[Clinical experience with the use of nitroglycerin in the acute period of myocardial infarct].

The authors summarize the results of treating 1284 patients with macrofocal acute myocardial infarction. In 1097 of these patients the treatment consisted of the intravenous administration of the alcohol solution of nitroglycerin. The control group was comprised of 184 patients whose treatment scheme included no nitroglycerin. The group of nitroglycerin-treated patients showed a decrease in the mortality rate as compared to control, 18.1% and 24.1%, respectively. The drug studied was also found to have an anti-arrhythmic effect. The most optimal timing of nitroglycerin use to limit the area of myocardial ischemia is the first six hours of infarction, later on in the presence of heart failure it is advisable to use this drug in combination with cardiac glycosides. There were practically no complications following the intravenous administration of nitroglycerin.