Carvedilol--clinical experience in arrhythmias

The pharmacological profile of carvedilol incorporating beta-adrenoceptor antagonism, weak alpha-blocking activity and slight calcium channel blockade indicates its anti-arrhythmic potential, but there are little data on its efficacy in this regard. Experimental animal studies have demonstrated that the drug reduces the number of premature ventricular contractions during both short-term and prolonged myocardial ischemia. In the relatively few open studies conducted in patients with hypertension, angina pectoris or heart failure complicated by a variety of ventricular arrhythmias, carvedilol improved the arrhythmia profile and significantly decreased the number of premature ventricular contractions. Further studies are need to extend the potential clinical usefulness of carvedilol in the treatment of the sinister ventricular arrhythmias that complicate so many common cardiovascular disease syndromes.