Why the study?
Do beta-blockers improve outcomes such as mortality, hemodynamics, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure?
Do beta-blockers improve outcomes such as mortality, hemodynamics, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure?
This review highlights the theoretical benefits and observed improvements in symptoms with beta-blockers in chronic heart failure, while noting the lack of definitive mortality benefit at the time of publication.
Supports symptomatic benefits in chronic HF; leaves open mortality reduction pending definitive trials.
There has been growing interest in and recognition of the role of beta-blockers in chronic heart failure (CHF). The mode of action is complex and several mechanisms have been proposed. The principal rationale for the use of beta-blockade is to counteract neurohormonal activation and its deleterious consequences in CHF. While the positive effect of this treatment on haemodynamics, exercise tolerance and quality of life, and a clear trend in favour of improved prognosis have been shown, there is still no concrete proof that beta-blockers reduce mortality in CHF. Several large-scale, prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled trials, designed to provide a definitive answer, are underway.
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Panfilov et al. (1997) studied this question.
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