CARDIOANGIOGRAPHY AND THE HEMODYNAMIC-EFFECTS OF IODIXANOL

Patient safety should be in focus when using contrast media (CM) in di agnostic and interventional cardiac procedures. Side-effects that occu r during cardioangiography due to hemodynamic effects of CM include di rect effects on the heart, effects on the systemic and the pulmonary c irculation, and effects on the blood volume. Although not a totally in ert solution, iodixanol (Visipaque) has less pronounced direct inotrop ic effects on the heart than have other CM; its vasodilatory effects o n peripheral arteries are smaller, and the increase in blood volume is smaller after administering iodixanol than after other CM. Thus, iodi xanol represents a further step forward in terms of reducing side-effe cts during contrast-enhanced diagnostic and interventional cardiac pro cedures.