For how we live.
A French study of 11,558 patients without heart failure linked atenolol to fewer cardiovascular events than bisoprolol. It is observational, so it shows an association, not proof one is better.
A 1,695-patient trial tested whether metoprolol helps people with COPD and no cardiovascular indication. It missed its primary endpoint — but, unlike an earlier trial, showed no signal of harm.
ABYSS and SMART-DECISION together cover 6,238 stable patients. Discontinuation cleared both noninferiority margins, though the authors say the primary endpoint's composition limits what it shows.
Researchers deliberately withdrew CPAP for three nights to simulate untreated sleep apnea, then tested propranolol against placebo. It slowed the heart-rate surges tied to apnea events, at the price of lighter sleep.
An individual-patient meta-analysis of 17,801 patients found a hazard ratio of 0.97 for death, reinfarction or heart failure — a result precise enough to make the question look settled.