Clinical evaluation of bisoprolol in patients with stable angina pectoris: a preliminary report

Efficacy and safety of the new beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, bisoprolol, in treatment of stable angina pectoris were studied in 36 patients using two types of single-blind design. After 2 weeks of therapy with bisoprolol in doses of 5 mg to 10 mg a day, exercise duration and time to 1 mm of ST-segment depression were significantly prolonged in 7 out of 10 patients who had a positive treadmill exercise test before bisoprolol. Bisoprolol significantly reduced heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and rate-pressure product (RPP) at peak exercise, which would account for the beneficial effect of bisoprolol on exercise tolerance. Bisoprolol also produced improvement in symptoms for 26 patients with stable effort angina, as indicated by decreased frequency of anginal attacks and nitroglycerin consumption with a once-a-day regimen. Ten patients had no attacks after 5 mg of bisoprolol, and three more did not develop angina after increasing the dose to 10 mg a day. These results suggest that bisoprolol will be a promising, efficacious, and safe drug for the treatment of stable angina pectoris.