What is a key characteristic of Milrinone related to dysrhythmias?

Milrinone is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor that exhibits inotropic effects by increasing myocardial contractility and vasodilating effects by decreasing systemic vascular resistance. When assessing its relationship to dysrhythmias, it is important to recognize that while dysrhythmias can occur with any medication that alters cardiac function, milrinone is generally considered to have a lower incidence of dysrhythmias compared to other inotropic agents such as dobutamine or dopamine.

This is because milrinone works through a different mechanism than catecholamines, which tend to stimulate beta-adrenergic receptors and may lead to increased heart rate and potentially provoke dysrhythmias. In clinical practice, milrinone has been utilized in patients with heart failure and is often preferred in those who are at risk for arrhythmic complications. Therefore, the characterization of milrinone as having dysrhythmias occurring less frequently than with other traditional inotropes accurately reflects its safety profile in this specific aspect of cardiac response.