title: Contemporary use of β-blockers: clinical relevance of subclassification.
abstract: β-Adrenergic receptor blockers or β-blockers represent one of the oldest classes of cardiovascular agents and have been considered a cornerstone therapy for hypertension and heart disease for the past 5 decades. They are advocated as a first-line treatment for uncomplicated essential hypertension in patients younger than 60 years of age as recommended by the Canadian Hypertension Education Program. However, despite the well-established antihypertensive and cardiovascular benefits of β-blockers, a number of studies argue that they might not have the same clinical advantages of other classes of agents in terms of morbidity/mortality outcomes. This review will focus on the heterogeneity of the pharmacologic characteristics of β-blockers, and we will discuss the metabolic and hemodynamic differences within the β-blocker class and try to assess the potential implications of these differences for optimal selection in hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Clinique d'hypertension et département de pharmacie, CHUL, CHU de Québec, Québec, Québec, Canada. Electronic address: luc.poirier@chuq.qc.ca.
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poirier
authors.affiliation: Aboriginal and Rural Health Research, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, Sunnybrook Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sheldon W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Tobe
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000367:Age Factors; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002170:Canada; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000075222:Essential Hypertension; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents