Clinical Observation on Full Dosage Metoprolol Administered in the Earlier Stage of Acute Myocardial Infarction

OBJECTIVE:To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of different dosage of metoprolol in patients with earlier stage of acute myocardial infarction. METHODS: A total of 262 patients with acute myocardial infarction were randomly divided into treatment group and control group: 131 cases in the treatment group were assigned to receive metoprolol 50 mg early every 6 hours for two days followed by a maintenance dosage of 25～50 mg·d~ -1 based on their heart rate (target heart rate: 55～60 beats per minute), another 131 (control group) to receive routine dosage (25 mg to 50 mg daily). The others treatments followed the guideline for diagnosis and treatment of acute myocardial infarction. The incidences of cardiac events (such as ventricular arrhythmia, post-infarction angina pectoris, re-infarction and sudden death), change of heart function, and toxic effects of metoprolol were compared between the two groups after treatment for 30 days. RESULTS: Incidences of cardiac events in the treatment group were all lower than in the control group (P0.05). However, no significant difference was noted in heart function between the two groups. CONCLUSION: It is safe to receive full dosage of metoprolol in the earlier stage of acute myocardial infarction and which can markedly reduce the incidence of cardiac events.