*** Welcome to piglix ***

Atenolol

Atenolol
Atenolol.svg
Atenolol 3d structure.png
Clinical data
Trade names Tenormin
AHFS/Drugs.com Monograph
MedlinePlus a684031
License data
Pregnancy
category
  • AU: C
  • US: D (Evidence of risk)
Routes of
administration
Oral or IV
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • In general: ℞ (Prescription only)
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability 40–50%
Protein binding 6–16%
Metabolism Hepatic <10%
Biological half-life 6–7 hours
Excretion Renal
Lactic (In lactiferous females)
Identifiers
CAS Number
PubChem CID
IUPHAR/BPS
DrugBank
ChemSpider
UNII
KEGG
ChEBI
ChEMBL
ECHA InfoCard 100.044.941
Chemical and physical data
Formula C14H22N2O3
Molar mass 266.336 g/mol
3D model (Jmol)
Chirality Racemic mixture
  

Atenolol is a selective β1 receptor antagonist, a drug belonging to the group of beta blockers (sometimes written β-blockers), a class of drugs used primarily in cardiovascular diseases. Introduced in 1976, atenolol was developed as a replacement for propranolol in the treatment of hypertension. It works by slowing down the heart and reducing its workload. Unlike propranolol, atenolol does not readily pass through the blood–brain barrier, thus decreasing the incidence of central nervous system side effects.

Atenolol is one of the most widely used β-blockers in the United Kingdom and was once the first-line treatment for hypertension. Atenolol is effective at reducing blood pressure, but recent studies indicate that it does not reduce the morbidity or mortality caused by hypertension, and may even increase mortality in some subgroups. This means that when people take this drug, they get better blood pressure numbers, but they still die of heart attacks and strokes, despite the lower blood pressure.

In addition, the role for β-blockers in general in hypertension was downgraded in June 2006 in the United Kingdom, and later in the United States, as they are less appropriate than newer blood pressure medications including calcium channel blockers, thiazide diuretics, angiotension converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and angiotension receptor blockers, particularly in the elderly.

Atenolol is used for a number of conditions including hypertension, angina, long QT syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, supraventricular tachycardia, ventricular tachycardia, and the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.


...
Wikipedia

...