title: Effect of beta blockers, particularly carvedilol, on reducing the risk of events after acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: The morbidity and mortality rates of patients who have had acute myocardial infarctions (AMIs) are high. Clinical guidelines recommend that most survivors of AMIs without contraindications should receive long-term treatment with beta blockade. Beta blockers have been shown to reduce mortality and reinfarction after AMI, but the pharmacologic differences among beta blockers may affect their ability to reduce these adverse events. The beta blocker carvedilol has adjunctive pharmacologic properties, including alpha1-blocking, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiarrhythmic activities that appear to underlie the outcomes demonstrated in experimental models and clinical trials. In conclusion, this review explores the experimental and clinical evidence supporting the preferential use of carvedilol in post-AMI patients with left ventricular dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA. kopecky.stephen@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Kopecky
mesh_terms: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002227:Carbazoles / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077261:Carvedilol; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011412:Propanolamines / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D002227:Carbazoles; D011412:Propanolamines; D000077261:Carvedilol