Comparison of pharmacodynamics between carvedilol and metoprolol in rats with isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy: effects of carvedilol enantiomers.

A recent clinical study has shown that carvedilol has a significantly more favorable effect than metoprolol on survival rate in patients with heart failure. This may be due to actions of carvedilol such as beta(2)-adrenoceptor blockade, alpha-adrenergic receptor blockade and other properties such as anti-oxidant effects that are not yet fully understood. We compared the effects of racemic carvedilol, metoprolol and carvedilol enantiomers on cardiac hypertrophy at similar heart rate in rats with isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy.