Betaxolol versus carvedilol in chronic heart failure (BETACAR Study) : Rationale and design

The use of beta-blockersin heart failurefor a long time was regarded as contra-indicated because of their negative inotropiceffects. Nevertheless, there is growing evidence that beta-blockersslow down the progression of left ventricular dilatationthat characterizes heart failure. In addition changes in left ventricular ejection fraction after several months of beta-blockertreatment appears to have predictive value for survival. This beneficial effect of beta- blockadein chronic heart failureneeds to be assessed further. The presumed benefit of beta- blockadewith betaxolol(CAS 63659-18-7), a highly selective beta-blockerwith long duration of action in chronic heart failure(CHF) will be assessed in BETACAR, a comparative study versus carvedilol(CAS 72956-09-3). The design of this study is provided in this article.