Effects of pindolol therapy on the size of experimentally induced myocardial infarction in the pig

The effect of pindolol on experimental myocardial infarction was studied in a pig model. Intravenous application of 0.05 mg pindolol per kg body weight was initiated one hour after coronary ligation and repeated at 12-hour intervals for five days. No significant difference in infarct size could be found between pindolol-treated animals (20.4 +/- 0.6% SEM of whole ventricular mass, n = 6) and untreated controls (20.5 +/- 1.2% SEM, n = 9). Hemodynamic data did not change significantly throughout the experiment. These results differ in part from those reported by other investigators: The disagreement may be due to the specific pharmacological properties of the applied drug, to variations in the dosages of beta blockers, as well as to differences in the study design.