Characteristics of Beta-blocker Treatment in Cardiac Patients with Concomitant Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Attila Frigy, Katalin Mezei, Ildikó Kocsis, Lehel Máthé
2016 Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine  
Background: Recent scientific data demonstrated a potential beneficial effect of beta-blocker (BB) therapy in cardiac patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our aim was to characterize the use of beta-blockers in these patients, in "real-life" conditions. Material and methods: We collected retrospectively the data of 60 consecutive cardiac patients (51 men, 9 women, mean age 67 years) with the concomitant diagnosis of COPD: main cardiac conditions, presence and reason of BB
more » ... therapy, type of drug and dosage, main ECG and echocardiographic parameters, medication and data regarding COPD. Besides descriptive statistics, we compared the data of patients with and without BB therapy (chi-square test, level of significance alpha <0.05) in order to identify factors associated with BB usage. Results: In our study population, 41.6% of the patients had received BB treatment, the most frequently used drug being bisoprolol 2.5 mg and 5 mg q.d. (28%-28%), followed by carvedilol (32%). The prevalence of BB therapy was 51.2% in heart failure patients (48% in NYHA class III and IV, and 66.6% in dilated cardiomyopathy), 38.4% in hypertension, 81.8% in ischemic artery disease, and 64.7% in subjects with atrial fibrillation. The usage of BB therapy was significantly associated with the presence of heart failure (p = 0.047), dilated cardiomyopathy (p = 0.034), ischemic heart disease (p = 0.005), previous myocardial infarction (p = 0.003) and, inversely, with the acute exacerbation of COPD (p = 0.006). Conclusions: Despite the fact that every cardiac patient with COPD had a potential indication for BB treatment, this was used insufficiently, especially in case of heart failure patients. In daily practice, there is a need for continuous review and improvement of BB usage in these patients.
doi:10.1515/jim-2016-0056 fatcat:ie3l4merazg7rfqlwel33q3pim