{beta}-blockers in pulmonary arterial hypertension: evolving concepts of right heart failure

Current guidelines advise against the use of β-blockers in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to avoid systemic hypotension [1]. In addition, PAH patients have a fixed stroke volume, and are therefore highly dependent on heart rate to increase their cardiac output [2–4]. Indeed, Provencher et al. [5] showed that withdrawal of β-blockers significantly improved exercise capacity in portopulmonary hypertension. Peacock and Ross [6] described another case of portopulmonary hypertension, in which the use of a β-blocker to treat a supraventricular tachycardia in an already haemodynamically unstable patient was nearly fatal.
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Pulmonary vascular disease Editorials Source Type: research