Can patients with coronary artery disease receiving beta blockers obtain a training effect?

Fifty-nine male volunteers with stable coronary artery disease underwent 1 year of supervised exercise and were compared with 69 similar control patients. Both groups underwent exercise tests initially and at 1 year to determine maximal oxygen uptake. Initial and 1-year tests were performed with patients off all cardiac medications including beta blockers. Although patients had been randomized to exercise intervention, administration of beta blockers was at the prerogative of their physicians. Thirty-seven percent of the trained group and 39% of the control group were taking beta blockers during the year of study. Regardless of whether or not beta blockers were administered, patients in the exercise intervention group had a significant increase in aerobic capacity and improvement in the other hemodynamic markers of training compared with control subjects. Of the trained patients, those on beta blockers were able to comply with the exercise regimen as well as those not taking beta blockers.