Table 2.

β-Adrenergic blockers used to treat angina

Druga	Selectivity	Dose time to peak action after oral intake, h	Elimination half-life, h	Dose
Atenolol	β1	2–4	6–9	50–200 mg/d
Bisoprolol	β1	2–4	9–12	10 mg/d
Esmolol, IV	β1	2–5 min	9 min	50–300 μg/kg/min
Metoprolold,e	β1	1–2	3–6	50–200 mg twice daily
Propranolold	None	1–2	3–5	80–120 mg twice daily
Nadolol	None	3–4	14–24	40–80 mg/d
Timolol	None	1–2	4–5	10 mg twice daily
Carvedilolc,d	None	1.0–1.5	7–10	3.125–25 mg twice daily
Labetalolb	None	2–4	3–6	200–600 mg twice daily

^aDrugs with partial agonist activity are not included;

^bCombined α-blocking and β-blocking activities;

^cCombined α-blocking, β₁-blocking, and β₂-blocking activities;

^dAntiarrhythmic class I effect;

^eAn extended release formulation may be begun at 100 mg daily.

Abbreviation: IV, intravenous.