Neurohormonal evaluation and long-term treatment of mild congestive heart failure in elderly patients with ibopamine: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study

The efficacy of oral ibopamine 100 mg three times daily was evaluated in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study in 40 elderly patients including 20 females with mild heart failure (New York Heart Association Class II) over a 12-week period. Ibopamine induced a statistically significant increase in exercise time of 53.22 s as compared with an increase in exercise time on placebo of 7.5 s (p < 0.05). In a 6-min walk test, the average distance increased by an average of 106 m in the ibopamine-treated group as compared with an increase of 68 m in the placebo group (p > 0.05). In a subset of 20 patients treatment with ibopamine induced no significant effect on plasma catecholamine and aldosterone concentrations. In these patients the clinical efficacy of ibopamine could be explained by the dopaminergic receptor stimulation resulting in vasodilation and enhancement of blood flow to exercising muscles. Monotherapy with ibopamine was associated with a good tolerability and no evidence of arrhythmogenic potential. It was concluded that ibopamine as monotherapy was clinically efficacious in these elderly patients with mild heart failure.