[Effectiveness of atenolol in moderate arterial hypertension. Evaluation by stress test]

A study on the effect of atenolol on exercise blood pressure is presented. Twenty-eight patients with blood pressure over 95 mmHg have been studied by maximal or symptom-limited stress testing. The stress testing was repeated with the same protocol after four weeks of treatment with 100 mg of atenolol daily. Systolic blood pressure after treatment fell by 14% at rest, by 9.5% at submaximal effort and by 11% at maximal effort, while diastolic blood pressure by 15%, 11% and 12% respectively (p less than 0.001). This reduction was parallel to that on heart rate. After treatment, diastolic blood pressure fell to normal ranges in 64% of patients at rest and in 56% of them at maximal effort. Exercise tolerance was slightly better after treatment than before it, mean duration of effort raising from 12.6 to 13.03 minutes. Exercise-induced arrhythmias were frequent (46%) and severe in hypertensive patients, two of them having ventricular tachycardia. This rate was dramatically reduced (up to 7%) with atenolol, as well as its severity.