Summary
The acute cardiovascular effects of two beta-adrenergic blocking agents, alprenolol and propranolol, were compared on a double-blind, cross-over basis in patients with moderate hypertension in a dose of 5 mg intravenously. The two drugs reduced the mean brachial artery pressure to the same extent both at rest and during exercise. These effects, however, were elicited by different haemodynamic mechanisms. After propranolol the cardiac output decreased by 13 per cent at rest and by 17 percent during exercise, whereas the systemic vascular resistance tended to increase. After alprenolol there was a less pronounced effect on the cardiac output but an essentially unchanged systemic vascular resistance. It is concluded that the different cardiovascular effects of the two drugs are due to the fact that alprenolol possesses a slight “intrinsic” beta-receptor stimulating activity, while propranolol is devoid of such one.
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Johnsson, G., De Guzman, M., Bergman, H. et al. The haemodynamic effects of alprenolol and propranolol at rest and during exercise in hypertensive patients. Pharmacol. Clin. 2, 34–39 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404184
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404184