Skip to main content
Log in

Controversies Surrounding the Use of β-Blockers in Older Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

  • Leading Article
  • Published:
Drugs & Aging Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

References

  • Alderman J, Grossman W. Are β-adrenergic-blocking drugs useful in the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy? Circulation 71: 854–857, 1985

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson JL, Lutz JR, Gilbert EM, et al. A randomized trial of low-dose beta-blockade therapy for idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. American Journal of Cardiology 55: 471–475, 1985

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Andersson B, Blomstrom-Lundqvist C, Hedner T, et al. Exercise hemodynamics and myocardial metabolism during long-term beta-adrenergic blockade in severe heart failure. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 18: 1059–1066, 1991

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Avorn J, Everitt DE, Weiss S. Increased antidepressant use in patients prescribed β-blockers. Journal of the American Medical Association 255: 357–360, 1986

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bansal S. Sexual dysfunction in hypertensive men; a critical review of the literature. Hypertension 12: 1–10, 1988

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beta-Blocker Heart Attack Trial Research Group. A randomized trial of propranolol in patients with acute myocardial infarction. 1. Mortality results. Journal of the American Medical Association 247: 1707–1714, 1982

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumenthal JA, Madden DJ, Krantz DS, et al. Short-term behavioral effects of beta-adrenergic medications in men with mild hypertension. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 43: 429–435, 1988

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonow RO, Udelson JE. Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction as a cause of congestive heart failure. Annals of Internal Medicine 117: 502–510, 1992

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bright RA, Everitt DE. β-Blockers and depression. Evidence against an association. Journal of the American Medical Association 267: 1783–1787, 1992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chadda K, Goldstein S, Byington R, et al. Effect of propranolol after acute myocardial infarction in patients with congestive heart failure. Circulation 73: 503–510, 1986

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cohn JN, Levine TB, Olivari MJ, et al. Plasma norepinephrine as a guide to prognosis in patients with chronic congestive heart failure. New England Journal of Medicine 311: 819–823, 1984

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Croog SH, Levine S, Testa MA, et al. The effects of antihypertensive therapy on the quality of life. New England Journal of Medicine 314: 1657–1664, 1986

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dimsdale JE, Newton RP, Joist T. Neuropsychological side effects of β-blockers. Archives of Internal Medicine 149: 514–525, 1989

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eichhorn EJ. The paradox of β-adrenergic blockade for the management of congestive heart failure. American Journal of Medicine 92: 527–538, 1992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Evans DA, Funkenstein H, Albert MS, et al. Prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in a community population of older persons; higher than previously reported. Journal of the American Medical Association 262: 2551–2556, 1989

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson DW. Sympathetic mechanisms in heart failure; pathophysiological and pharmacological implications. Circulation 87(Suppl. VII): 68–75, 1993

    Google Scholar 

  • Forman DE, Gutierrez Bernai JL, Wei JY. Management of acute myocardial infarction in the very elderly. American Journal of Medicine 93: 315–326, 1992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forman DE, Wei JY. Beta-blockers in older patients with myocardial infarction. Journal of the American Medical Association 266: 2222, 1991

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Francis GS, Benedict C, Johnstone DE, for the SOLVD Investigators. Comparison of neuroendocrine activation in patients with left ventricular dysfunction with and without congestive heart failure. A substudy of the studies of left ventricular dysfunction. Circulation 82: 1724–1729, 1990

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gengo FM, Fagan SC, de Padova A, et al. The effect of β-blockers on mental performance on older hypertensive patients. Archives of Internal Medicine 148: 779–784, 1988

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg RJ, Gore JM, Gurwitz JH, et al. The impact of age on the incidence and prognosis of initial acute myocardial infarction: the Worcester heart attack study. American Heart Journal 117: 543–549, 1989

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldbourt U, Behar S, Reicher-Reiss H, et al. Early administration of nifedipine in suspected acute myocardial infarction: the secondary prevention reinfarction Israel nifedipine trial 2 study. Archives of Internal Medicine 153: 345–353, 1993

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein G, Materson BJ, Cushman WC, et al. Treatment of hypertension in the elderly: II. Cognitive and behavioral function. Hypertension 15: 361–369, 1990

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman W. Diastolic dysfunction in congestive heart failure. New England Journal of Medicine 325: 1557–1564, 1991

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guralnik JM, Land KC, Blazer D, et al. Educational status and active life expectancy among older blacks and whites. New England Journal of Medicine 329: 110–116, 1993

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gurwitz JH, Avorn J. The ambiguous relation between aging and adverse drug reactions. Annals of Internal Medicine 114: 956–966, 1991

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gurwitz JH, Col NF, Avorn J. The exclusion of the elderly and women from clinical trials in acute myocardial infarction. Journal of the American Medical Association 268: 1417–1422, 1992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gurwitz JH, Goldberg RJ, Chen Z, et al. β-Blocker therapy in acute myocardial infarction: evidence for underutilization in the elderly. American Journal of Medicine 93: 605–610, 1992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hjalmarson A, Herlitz J, Holmberg S, et al. The Göteborg Metoprolol Trial. Effects on mortality and morbidity in acute myocardial infarction. Circulation 67(Suppl. I): 26–32, 1983

    Google Scholar 

  • ISIS-1 Collaborative Group. Randomized trial of intravenous atenolol among 16027 cases of suspected acute myocardial infarction. Lancet 2: 57–65, 1986

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessup M. Beta-adrenergic blockade in congestive heart failure: answering the old questions. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 18: 1067–1069, 1991

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kostis JB, Rosen RC. Central nervous system effects of β-adrenergic blocking drugs: the role of ancillary properties. Circulation 75: 204–212, 1987

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lichstein E, Hager WD, Gregory JJ, et al. Relation between beta-adrenergic blocker use, various correlates of left ventricular function and the chance of developing congestive heart failure. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 16: 1327–1332, 1990

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luchi RJ, Snow E, Luchi JM, et al. Left ventricular function in hospitalized geriatric patients. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 30: 700–705, 1982

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Luchi RJ, Taffet GE, Teasdale TA. Congestive heart failure in the elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 39: 810–825, 1991

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MIAMI Trial Research Group. Metoprolol in acute myocardial infarction (MIAMI). A randomized placebo-controlled international trial. European Heart Journal 6: 199–226, 1985

    Google Scholar 

  • Montague TJ, Ikuta RM, Wong RY, et al. Comparison of risk and patterns of practice in patients older and younger than 70 years with acute myocardial infarction in a two year period (1987–1989). American Journal of Cardiology 68: 843–847, 1991

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NIH Consensus Development Panel on Impotence. Impotence. Journal of the American Medical Association 270: 83–90, 1993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norwegian Multicenter Study Group. Timolol-induced reduction in mortality and reinfarction in patients surviving acute myocardial infarction. New England Journal of Medicine 304: 801–807, 1981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Packer M, Hung Lee W, Kessler PD, et al. Role of neurohormonal mechanisms in determining survival in patients with severe chronic heart failure. Circulation 75(Suppl. IV): 80–92, 1987

    Google Scholar 

  • Radack K, Deck C. β-Adrenergic blocker therapy does not worsen intermittent claudication in subjects with peripheral arterial disease; a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Archives of Internal Medicine 151: 1769–1776, 1991

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rich MW, Bosner MS, Chung MK, et al. Is age an independent predictor of early and late mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction? American Journal of Medicine 92: 7–13, 1992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Skinner MH, Futterman A, Morrissette D, et al. Atenolol compared with nifedipine; effect on cognitive function and mood in elderly hypertensive patients. Annals of Internal Medicine 116: 615–623, 1992

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith SC, Gilpin E, Ahnve S, et al. Outlook after acute myocardial infarction in the very elderly compared with that in patients aged 65 to 75 years. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 16: 784–792, 1990

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon S, Hotchkiss E, Saravay SM, et al. Impairment of memory function by antihypertensive medication. Archives of General Psychiatry 40: 1109–1112, 1983

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swedberg K, Waagstein F, Hjalmarson A, et al. Prolongation of survival in congestive cardiomyopathy by beta receptor blockade. Lancet 1: 1374–1376, 1979

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thiessen BQ, Wallace SM, Blackburn JL, et al. Increased prescribing of antidepressants subsequent to β-blocker therapy. Archives of Internal Medicine 150: 2286–2290, 1990

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waagstein F, Hjalmarson A, Wasir HS. Apex cardiogram and systolic time intervals in acute myocardial infarction and effects of practolol. British Heart Journal 36: 1109–1121, 1974

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waal HJ. Propranolol-induced depression. British Medical Journal II: 50, 1967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei JY. Age and the cardiovascular system. New England Journal of Medicine 327: 1735–1739, 1992

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xamoterol in Severe Heart Failure Study Group. Xamoterol in severe heart failure. Lancet 336: 1–6, 1990

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yusuf S, Peto R, Lewis J, et al. Beta blockade during and after myocardial infarction: an overview of the randomized trials. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases 27: 335–371, 1985

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yusuf S, Sleight P, Held P, et al. Routine medical management of acute myocardial infarction. Lessons from overviews of recent randomized controlled trials. Circulation 82(Suppl. II): 117–134, 1990

    Google Scholar 

  • Yusuf S, Wittes J, Friedman L. Overview of results of randomized clinical trials in heart disease. 1. Treatments following myocardial infarction. Journal of the American Medical Association 260: 2088–2093, 1988

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jansen, R.W.M.M., Gurwitz, J.H. Controversies Surrounding the Use of β-Blockers in Older Patients with Cardiovascular Disease. Drugs & Aging 4, 175–183 (1994). https://doi.org/10.2165/00002512-199404030-00001

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00002512-199404030-00001

Keywords

Navigation