Efficacy of carvedilol in the treatment of stable exertional angina pectoris

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of carvedilol and atenolol in the treatment of stable exertional angina. Methods Ninety seven patients with stable exertional angina whose exercise test were positive were enrolled into this study. The patients were randomized into treatment group (carvedilol group) and control group(atenolol group). First, the treatment medication in two groups was titrated to target doses within two weeks. The heart rate ranged from 55 bpm to 60 bpm.Then, the medication was given at target doses for 4 weeks. A total of 86 cases completed the study. main indices of exercise test, frequency of onset of angina pectoris and consumption of nitrates were compared before and after treatment. Results Carvedilol and atenolol could both improve the tolerance of exercise while carvedilol had better effect than atenolol( P 0.01~0.001). There were differences in the reduction of angina times and consumption of nitrates between the two groups. Carvedilol had better effects than atenolol ( P 0.05 and P 0.001). Conclnsion Carvedilol at targeted doses in the treatment of stable exertional angina has better effect and fewer side effects than atenolol