Carmoxirole (free base) is a dopamine D2 receptor agonist with limited central activity that modulates sympathetic activation and subsequently reduces pre-load and afterload in animals. It was shown, that carmoxirole induced beneficial effects on hemodynamic and neurohumoral parameters in heart failure. In addition, experimental evidence showed that carmoxirole lowered blood pressure in various models of hypertension mainly or exclusively through inhibition of noradrenaline release from sympathetic nerve endings. That effect of carmoxirole was mediated by presynaptic dopamine receptors with the characteristic that release inhibition was restricted to low rates of sympathetic nerve discharge.