Objective: To determine the relative β₁‐selectivity of three β‐blockers (nebivolol, bisoprolol and atenolol), administered orally at normal therapeutic doses, by assessing their impact on the β₂‐mediated, haemodynamic and biochemical responses to a terbutaline infusion, which decreases serum potassium and increases serum glucose and insulin.

Methods: Twenty‐four healthy volunteers (14 men, 10 women), with no history of respiratory disease, attended on five separate occasions; β‐blockers (nebivolol 5 mg, bisoprolol 10 mg, atenolol 50 and 100 mg) or placebo were supplied in random order. Three baseline blood samples were collected at 65–85 min post‐β‐blocker. A 60‐min terbutaline infusion was started 90 min after taking the β‐blocker. Blood samples were taken and blood pressure and heart rate recorded at 15 min intervals up to 30‐min post‐infusion. Blood samples were analysed for serum potassium, glucose and insulin concentrations.

Results: Terbutaline increased heart rate. Pretreatment with nebivolol caused a modest and non‐significant reduction in terbutaline‐induced tachycardia whilst bisoprolol produced a more marked effect. Atenolol at both 50 and 100 mg doses caused a highly significant reduction in terbutaline‐induced tachycardia. All active preparations had a comparable impact on the terbutaline‐induced increase in systolic blood pressure, but the drugs had no impact on the changes produced in diastolic blood pressure. After pretreatment with placebo, the terbutaline infusion caused a significant decrease in serum potassium and increases in serum glucose and insulin. Pretreatment with nebivolol had no discernible effect on potassium compared with placebo. In contrast, when compared with either placebo or nebivolol, bisoprolol (P < 0·01) and both doses of atenolol (P < 0·001) significantly attenuated the hypokalaemic effect of terbutaline. Treatment with nebivolol and bisoprolol modestly but significantly reduced the terbutaline‐induced increases in glucose (P < 0·05). The blocking effects of both doses of atenolol were highly significant (P < 0·001) when compared with placebo and also significant (P < 0·05 and P < 0·01, respectively) when compared with nebivolol and bisoprolol. A similar pattern of responses with the different β‐blocker treatments was observed for the effects on insulin concentrations during the terbutaline infusion.

Conclusion: The β₁‐selectivity of three different β₁‐blockers has been demonstrated in healthy volunteers using the blocking of biochemical and haemodynamic responses to a β₂ stimulus. Terbutaline alone caused an increase in heart rate, a rise in systolic blood pressure, a fall in serum potassium and a rise in both serum glucose and insulin. In this study, for both haemodynamic and biochemical responses, atenolol 100 mg had the greatest β₂‐blocking effect, nebivolol 5 mg the least. Bisoprolol 10 mg and atenolol 50 mg had intermediate effects; bisoprolol was the more β₁‐selective of these two.