Comparison of effectiveness of carvedilol versus bisoprolol for maintenance of sinus rhythm after cardioversion of persistent atrial fibrillation

Ninety patients who underwent cardioversion of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) were randomized to bisoprolol 5 to 10 mg once daily or carvedilol 12.5 to 25 mg twice daily. Using intention-to-treat analysis, 23 patients (46%) in the bisoprolol group and 17 patients (32%) in the carvedilol group relapsed into AF during the 1 year of total follow-up (p = 0.486). Patients treated with carvedilol had a 14% (hazard ratio 0.86) lower risk of relapse of AF compared with patients in the bisoprolol group, although results were statistically insignificant (p = 0.661) after controlling for patient age, gender, baseline heart rate, and left atrial diameter.