Oral pharmacokinetics of bisoprolol in resting and exercising healthy volunteers.

The effects of exercise on bisoprolol oral pharmacokinetics were studied in eight healthy male volunteers in an open, randomized, three-period, crossover trial. Oral bisoprolol (20 mg) was given either at rest during 24 h or with iterative stress tests before and 2.5, 5, 10, and 24 h after dosing. Exercise tests were repeated on a third placebo period. Bisoprolol was assayed in plasma and urines, and plasma catecholamines were measured before and after stress tests, Cmax, Tmax, elimination t1/2, and renal clearance of bisoprolol were not significantly modified by exercise. AUC0-infinity significantly decreased by 7.5% (p less than 0.05) with stress test resulting in an increase in apparent oral clearance. The beta-blocking effect peaked at 2.5 h, lasted greater than 24 h, and was related to plasma levels. The exercise-induced increase in plasma norepinephrine levels was significantly augmented with bisoprolol. These results suggest that repeated exercise tests exerted only limited effects on the oral pharmacokinetics of bisoprolol.