Systolic time intervals during long-term beta-blockade with alprenol in ischaemic heart disease.

The effect of long-term treatment with alprenolol on left ventricular function was investigated in a controlled double-blind study of 15 patients with ischaemic heart disease (alprenolol 6, placebo 9), by measurement of systolic time intervals (STI). Significant prolongation of QS2I was observed in patients treated with alprenolol (p less than 0.05), while changes in PEPI, LVETI and PEP/LVET were all insignificant. The heart rate x systolic blood pressure product (RPP) was significantly reduced in the alprenolol group (p less than 0.05). The data suggest that long-term treatment with alprenolol did not impair left ventricular function as evaluated by STI, and that myocardial oxygen demand, assessed by RPP, was reduced during the treatment.