Effect of long-term treatment with ß-adrenoceptor antagonists on blood lipid composition and survival of rats with heart failure of different severity.

Plasma LDL content increased in rats with mild chronic heart failure, but decreased in animals with severe pathology. The lipid profile of ß-adrenoceptor antagonists depended on their selectivity. The most selective antagonists of ß-adrenoceptors had little effect on the lipid composition. Nonselective ß-adrenoceptor antagonists increased the index of plasma atherogenicity, which did not depend on the severity of a pathological process. In mild chronic heart failure, these changes were associated with a decrease in HDL concentration, while in severe chronic heart failure; they were related to a tendency towards a decrease in HDL content and an increase in LDL concentration. The increase in survival rate was associated with true antagonism of the agent to ß-adrenoceptors (the absence of intrinsic sympathomimetic activity) and, to a lesser extent, with nonselective blockade of ß-adrenoceptors.