Noninvasive assessment of left ventricular effects of hydralazine in heart failure.

In order to develop a noninvasive means for following left ventricular responses to hydralazine, we measured the systolic time intervals serially in 6 patients with heart failure. Without affecting heart rate or arterial pressure, hydralazine lengthened the left ventricular ejection time relative to the heart rate (LVETc) 19 +/- 7 msec (p < 0.05) and shortened the preejection period 23 +/- 3 msec (p < 0.001), restoring it to normal in 4 patients. The data suggest that preejection period shortening and LVETc lengthening provide the basis for a noninvasive method of assessing the effects of hydralazine on left ventricular performance in heart failure.