Atenolol

Atenolol is a beta blocker, a selective antagonist of the beta-1 adrenergic receptor, used to treat high blood pressure and the chest pain of angina, and also used to prevent migraine and manage certain arrhythmias. It works by blocking beta-1 adrenergic receptors in the heart, which decreases heart rate, reduces the force of heart contractions and lowers blood pressure. The compound was patented in 1969 and approved for medical use in 1975, and it is marketed under the trade name Tenormin; it appears on the World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines, and as of 2023 it ranked as the seventy fifth most frequently prescribed medication in the United States, with over nine million prescriptions filled that year.