Are Beta-Blockers Effective for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?

Metoprolol bested placebo in reducing gradients and symptoms in a small randomized trial.

Beta-blockers are frequently prescribed for patients with symptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, guidelines recommending them for this indication are based on small nonrandomized studies conducted more than 50 years ago. And since then, only one small randomized, controlled trial (RCT), published in 1993, evaluated a beta-blocker — nadolol versus the channel blocker verapamil, without a placebo arm — for patients with HCM (J Am Coll Cardiol 1993; 21:1672).

Now, investigators have conducted a single-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover RCT to evaluate the effect of metoprolol on left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction, exercise capacity, and symptoms in patients with obstructive HCM. Twenty-nine patient…

Reviewing Author

Mark S. Link, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsCirculation; UpToDate

Mark S. Link, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsCirculation; UpToDate

Are Beta-Blockers Effective for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?

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Reviewing Author