Effects of intravenous levosimendan on plasma neurohormone levels in patients with heart failure: relation to hemodynamic response

The administration of intravenous levosimendan (0.1–0.4 μg/kg per minute) was associated with a statistically significant reduction in plasma levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in 79 patients with advanced (New York Heart Association functional class III or IV) heart failure. These data are compatible with the premise that reduction in ET-1 levels contributes to the hemodynamic effects of levosimendan in heart failure, although more extensive investigations are needed to confirm this hypothesis. The present study provided no evidence that levosimendan, in the doses used, had a significant effect on plasma levels of norepine- phrine.