Comparison of treatment effects of bevantolol and metoprolol on cardiac function and natriuretic peptides in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

This study was designed to compare the efficacy of bevantolol, a beta(1)-selective blocker with alpha-blockade and vasodilating activity, with that of metoprolol, a beta(1)-selective receptor blocker, for the treatment of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Forty-one patients with DCM were enrolled to receive either bevantolol or metoprolol in addition to the standard therapy for DCM. They were classified into two groups: 16 patients were treated with bevantolol and 25 were treated with metoprolol. Echocardiographic parameters and atrial and brain natriuretic peptides (ANP, BNP) were measured before treatment and after 6 months of treatment. Left ventricular dimension at end-diastole and end-systole was significantly lower and fractional shortening was significantly higher after treatment than before treatment in both groups. The plasma ANP and BNP levels were significantly decreased in both groups. Changes in all variables, except for systolic blood pressure, showed no significant differences between the two groups. In conclusion, bevantolol showed parallel beneficial effects to those of metoprolol on cardiac function and natriuretic peptides in patients with DCM.