Improvement in Doppler alternans in patients with severe heart failure: Levosimendan versus dobutamin

Mechanical alternans, an ominous sign of terminal systolic heart failure, could be indirectly shown by Doppler analysis. On the other hand, Levosimendan, a novel agent, improves contractility in patients with HF. We searched the effect of L versus dobutamin onto Doppler alternans in patients with systolic HF. We found that Levosimendan improves beta-to-beat alteration in patients with systolic HF, demonstrated by pulsed Doppler compared to dobutamin.