Racial differences in sensitivity to the negative chronotropic effects of propranolol in healthy men *

Dose‐response studies in patients with hypertension have shown that black subjects are less responsive to β‐blocker therapy than white subjects, whereas studies in healthy volunteers suggest marginal or no racial differences in response. No concentration‐response studies have been conducted in black subjects and white subjects. The purpose of this study was to characterize β‐blocker pharmacodynamics in healthy black and white men.