A patient with variant angina wants to know why a beta blocker cannot be used to treat the angina. ...

B
Variant angina occurs when coronary arteries go into spasm, thus reducing the circulation and oxygen supply to the heart. CCBs help to reduce coronary artery spasm; beta blockers do not. Beta1-selective beta blockers are used for stable angina for patients who also have asthma, be-cause they do not activate beta2 receptors in the lungs to cause bronchoconstriction. Beta block-ers help improve the oxygen supply in stable angina, but they do not relieve coronary artery spasm, so they are not useful in variant angina. Beta blockers do not constrict arterial smooth muscle.