Oral Pindolol in Acute Evolving Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Pindolol was administered orally (5 mg 8th-hourly) to 30 patients 5--19 (mean = 9.0 hrs) hours after onset of acute myocardial infarction. There were no serious side effects during the acute phase of infarction, only one hospital death and two late deaths at follow-up 2--82 (mean = 37 wks) weeks after hospital discharge. In contrast to healthy volunteers, patients with acute infarction had unpredictable absorption of pindolol from the gastrointestinal tract; this was attributable in part to concurrent administration of narcotic analgesics.