Selective and nonselective beta-blockers equally effective in preventing su...( s we move into development of the next...)

Selective and nonselective beta-blockers equally effective in preventing sudden death

s we move into development of the next generation of these drugs."

The selective beta-blocker used was metoprolol. The nonselective drugs were carvedilol and bucindolol. The scientists found that all the patients had approximately the same reduction in QTc dispersion. The QT interval is the time between the Q and T peaks on an ECG. QTc dispersion is the maximal difference between the shortest and longest QT. When the difference is shortened, it shows the drug has improved the health of the heart and reduced the risk of sudden death.

Beta-blockers are designed to impede the action of a cellular protein called a beta receptor. It is part of a biochemical process that regulates the heart. The receptor inhibition by the drug blocks the toxic effects of the sympathetic nervous system on the heart. Both the selective and nonselective beta-blockers used in this study appeared to alter ventricular function of the heart.

The other researchers involved in this study were UT Southwestern medical resident Dr. Susan Fesmire; VA research nurse Lucille Marcoux; research assistants Debra Lyyski and Michael Sprague; and Dr. Harold Kennedy, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School - Minneapolis.

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Contact: Susan Steeves
susan.steeves@email.swmed.edu
214-648-3404
UT Southwestern Medical Center
31-Aug-1999

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