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Review
. 2023 Jan 9:13:1043714.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1043714. eCollection 2022.

Beta-blockers in cardiac arrhythmias-Clinical pharmacologist's point of view

Łukasz Wołowiec  1 , Grzegorz Grześk  1 , Joanna Osiak  1 , Aleksandra Wijata  1 , Martyna Mędlewska  1 , Patryk Gaborek  1 , Joanna Banach  1 , Anna Wołowiec  2 , Mariola Głowacka  3
Affiliations
Review

Beta-blockers in cardiac arrhythmias-Clinical pharmacologist's point of view

Łukasz Wołowiec et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

β-blockers is a vast group of antiarrhythmic drugs which differ in their pharmacokinetic and chemical properties. Some of them block β-adrenergic receptors selectively while the others work non-selectively. Consequently, they reduce the influence of the sympathetic nervous system on the heart, acting negatively inotropic, chronotropic, bathmotropic and dromotropic. Although they have been present in medicine since the beginning of the 1960s, they still play a crucial role in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. They are also first-line group of drugs used to control the ventricular rate in patients with the most common arrhythmia-atrial fibrillation. Previous reports indicate that infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus may constitute an additional risk factor for arrhythmia. Due to the aging of the population in developed countries and the increase in the number of patients with cardiac burden, the number of people suffering from cardiac arrhythmias will increase in the upcoming years. As a result the role of above-mentioned beta-blockers will remain significant. Particularly noteworthy is propranolol-the oldest beta adrenergic antagonist, which in recent years has found additional applications due to its unique properties. In this article, we reviewed the accessible literature and summarized the current guidelines on the use of beta-blockers in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; heart arrhythmia; heart failure; propranolol; β-blockers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

GRAPH 1
GRAPH 1
Dependence of pKa on pKi (esmolol | Ligand Activity Charts | IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY; PubChem; Lowe et al., 2002).
GRAPH 2
GRAPH 2
Dependence of pKb on pKi (esmolol | Ligand Activity Charts | IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY; PubChem; Lowe et al., 2002).
GRAPH 3
GRAPH 3
Dependence of pKb on pKi. LogP value (esmolol | Ligand Activity Charts | IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY; PubChem; Lowe et al., 2002).
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