ARE YOU STILL USING ATENOLOL FOR HTN?.HOPE NOT

ORIGINALLY PUT IN THIS BLOG IN APRIL,2006

At 6:49 PM, North Shore Boston MD Free Forum said...
DID YOU KNOW THIS ? about ATENOLOL :

CAFE study in Circulation MARCH 7 2006 confirmed what LIFE study and ASCOT study had already shown. ATENOLOL is only slightly better than a placebo in cardiovascular outcome and lives saved. !!!!!!!

Atenolol decreases the BP but it does not decrease cardiovascular events

It does decrease brachial blood pressure but not intra-aortic blood pressure.

Vital organs including brain, heart and kidney respond to the intra-aortic BP and not brachial BP !!!!

It is now indisputable. Let me say this again ATENOLOL does not improve the outcome though it may improve the brachial BP.

Read on

ASCOT study- an Anglo-Scandinavian study of 20,000 people- was stopped prematurely because of the higher mortality in the ATENOLOL branch of the study- LANCET- 2005, 366: 895-906

Read on

All BP medications except ATENOLOL decreases brachial BP as much as intra-aortic BP. But not ATENOLOL. So this is not true of all beta blockers it is not a class action

In fact we think: if we knew , what we now know about ATENOLOL. it would not have been cleared for BP control at all. (the LANCET FEB 25, 2006 )

Mind you every thing I said above is for ATENOLOL and hypertension. ATENOLOL is still a good cardiac specific anti anginal drug.

Bottom line ATENOLOL is not a good BP medication at all though it decreases brachial BP( oxymoron) it does not save any lives.

This is specific comment on ATENOLOL ,not for all beta blockers. It still is a good cardiac medication. My challenge to you: how many of your patients are on ATENOLOL for hypertension, are you on it yourselves ?

KK