Baseline characteristics in metoprolol treated cases and in controls on conventional heart failure treatment; data in unmatched and matched cohorts
| Entire control cohort (n = 411) | p value | Metoprolol cases (n = 175) | Matched controls (n = 127) | p value | Matched metoprolol cases (n = 127) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (A) Number (%) of cases | ||||||||||
| Male sex | 306 | (75) | NS | 129 | (74) | 94 | (75) | NS | 94 | (75) |
| NYHA class I | 79 | (19) | 39 | (22) | 25 | (20) | 34 | (27) | ||
| NYHA class II | 180 | (44) | 83 | (47) | 70 | (55) | 61 | (48) | ||
| NYHA class III | 119 | (29) | 46 | (26) | 27 | (21) | 27 | (21) | ||
| NYHA class IV | 33 | (8) | NS | 7 | (4) | 5 | (4) | 5 | (4) | |
| Borderline hypertension | 55 | (14) | 0.004 | 41 | (24) | 20 | (16) | NS | 32 | (26) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 46 | (11) | 0.009 | 7 | (4) | 10 | (8) | NS | 3 | (2) |
| First degree AV block | 25 | (8) | NS | 20 | (12) | 5 | (5) | NS | 15 | (12) |
| Left bundle branch block | 140 | (37) | NS | 56 | (33) | 46 | (40) | NS | 42 | (34) |
| Digitalis | 310 | (75) | 0.003 | 152 | (87) | 93 | (73) | 0.01 | 110 | (87) |
| ACE inhibitors | 337 | (82) | 0.00001 | 166 | (95) | 114 | (90) | NS | 120 | (94) |
| Frusemide | 216 | (53) | 0.007 | 70 | (40) | 71 | (56) | 0.01 | 50 | (39) |
| Amiodarone | 164 | (40) | 0.0001 | 40 | (23) | 47 | (37) | 0.01 | 28 | (22) |
| (B) Mean (SD) values | ||||||||||
| Age (years) | 44 | (12) | NS | 43 | (13) | 43 | (12) | NS | 43 | (13) |
| Duration of disease (months) | 25 | (39) | NS | 29 | (42) | 25 | (37) | NS | 31 | (42) |
| Duration of amiodarone treatment (months) | 19 | (22) | NS | 21 | (22) | 26 | (25) | NS | 18 | (20) |
| Heart rate (beats/min) | 83 | (17) | NS | 82 | (16) | 82 | (14) | NS | 81 | (15) |
| Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 121 | (15) | NS | 120 | (13) | 120 | (14) | NS | 120 | (12) |
| Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 78 | (10) | NS | 78 | (9) | 78 | (9) | NS | 78 | (8) |
| VPBs/hour | 114 | (223) | NS | 83 | (166) | 95 | (183) | NS | 74 | (148) |
| VC/hour | 1.97 | (7.6) | NS | 1.76 | (5.6) | 1.78 | (6.0) | NS | 1.45 | (5.0) |
| VT episodes/hour | 0.12 | (0.104) | NS | 0.11 | (0.29) | 0.11 | (0.51) | NS | 0.08 | (0.15) |
| LV end diastolic diameter (mm/m2) | 39 | (6) | NS | 38 | (6) | 39 | (6) | NS | 38 | (5) |
| LV ejection fraction | 0.28 | (0.09) | NS | 0.28 | (0.09) | 0.29 | (0.09) | NS | 0.29 | (0.09) |
| Pulmonary artery pressure (mm Hg) | 22 | (11) | NS | 20 | (9) | 20 | (9) | NS | 19 | (9) |
| Wedge pressure (mm Hg) | 15 | (9) | 0.012 | 13 | (8) | 13 | (8) | NS | 12 | (8) |
| Mean aortic pressure (mm Hg) | 89 | (15) | 0.016 | 86 | (12) | 90 | (16) | NS | 87 | (12) |
| Cardiac index (l/min/m2) | 2.98 | (0.99) | 0.0001 | 3.78 | (1.11) | 3.56 | (1.1) | 0.0001 | 3.95 | (1.4) |
AV, atrioventricular; ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme; LV, left ventricular; NYHA, New York Heart Association; VC, ventricular couplets; VPB, ventricular premature beats; VT, ventricular tachycardia.