title: Safety and efficacy of esmolol for unstable angina pectoris.
abstract: Esmolol is a rapidly metabolized cardioselective beta-adrenergic blocker that provides steady state beta-adrenergic blockade when administered by continuous intravenous infusion. To determine the efficacy of esmolol in the management of unstable angina, 23 patients with known coronary artery disease, who averaged 3.7 +/- 2.7 daily episodes of chest pain at rest, were randomized to receive either a continuous infusion of esmolol (n = 12) or oral propranolol (n = 11), as an adjunct to concomitant antianginal therapy. Patients with systolic blood pressure less than 110 mm Hg, heart rate less than 60 beats/min or known contraindications to beta blockade were excluded. Esmolol was titrated in a step-wise fashion from 2 to 24 mg/min at 5-minute intervals up to a 30% reduction in heart rate and systolic blood pressure double-product. The propranolol dose was increased every 6 hours by 50 to 100% to achieve a similar reduction in heart rate and blood pressure. When compared with their 24-hour baseline periods, both groups achieved a significant reduction in episodes of chest pain, from 4.6 +/- 3.3 to 1.4 +/- 1.5 in the esmolol group (p less than 0.02) and 2.6 +/- 1.4 to 1.0 +/- 1.5 in the propranolol group (p less than 0.02) during the subsequent study period. The cardiac event rate and incidence of drug side effects were similar between the 2 groups; however, side effects seen with esmolol did not require treatment after drug discontinuation. Thus, maximally tolerated beta blockade is an effective therapy for unstable angina.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D000328:Adult; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000789:Angina, Unstable / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011412:Propanolamines / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D011433:Propranolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D011412:Propanolamines; D011433:Propranolol; C036604:esmolol