Low- versus high-dose nitroglycerin infusion in the management of acute pulmonary edema.

Background: Nitroglycerin (NTG) is commonly used for the management of pulmonary edema in acute heart failure presentations. Although commonly initiated at low infusion rates, higher infusion rates have favorable pharmacodynamic properties and may improve outcomes in the management of acute pulmonary edema.

Objectives: To characterize the clinical outcomes including the time to resolution of severe hypertension when using an initial low dose (<100 μg/min) versus high-dose (≥100 μg/min) strategy.