Table 1.
General characteristics of the patients studied
| Groups | |||||
| A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C | |
| Weight (kg) | 73 ± 10 | 80 ± 14 | 76 ± 14 | 73 ± 10 | 75 ± 10 |
| Age (years) | 60 ± 11 | 58 ± 8 | 63 ± 7 | 61 ± 7 | 55 ± 6 |
| LVEF (%) | 68 ± 5 | 65 ± 8 | 33 ± 8 | 36 ± 5 | 22 ± 5 |
| Preoperative therapy | |||||
| Nitroderivates (n) | 8 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 5 |
| β-Blockers (n) | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Calcium antagonists (n) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | |
| Digoxin (n) | 1 | 3 | 10 | ||
| Furosemide (n) | 2 | 1 | 10 | ||
| ACE inhibitors (n) | 2 | 7 | 3 | 7 | |
No significant difference was observed among the five groups for age, weight and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme. For definition of groups, please see text.