Abstract
After defining the drug class of β-adrenergic blocking agents, general aspects for clinical use of β-blockers are discussed, namely absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, correlation between clinical response and drug disposition, drug interactions, and influence of disease on drug response and disposition. Pharmacokinetic data for the following β-blockers were retrieved from the literature: acebutolol, alprenolol, atenolol, labetalol, metoprolol, nadolol oxprenolol, penbutolol, pindolol, practolol, propranolol sotalol, talinolol, timolol, and tolamalol. Those pharmacokinetic parameters which were not listed in the original literature were calculated. The use of pharmacokinetic parameters of β-blockers for clinical application is discussed.