Summary
Isoproterenol has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Atrial Fibrillation would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Atrial Fibrillation. ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Isoproterenol to Atrial Fibrillation: 3 are active or not yet recruiting; 4 have completed; 1 is terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 2 (NCT03032965). The largest enrolment is 406 participants (NCT07197931). Registration activity spans 2009 to 2025. The literature layer holds 8 publications for this pair: 3 randomised controlled trial publications and 5 clinical trial publications. Publication years run from 2016 to 2025. These are primary trial reports rather than syntheses, so results have not yet been pooled or graded independently.
The RepurpOS disease-intelligence file for Atrial Fibrillation ranks 332 candidate therapeutics from Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and PubMed; only a minority carry direct clinical evidence, and this page covers one of those. Spontaneous remission context recorded for the condition: Spontaneous reversion to sinus rhythm occurs in ~50% of paroxysmal AF within 24-48 hours; persistent AF almost never self-terminates; rate-control (the dominant strategy) by definition keeps the patient in AF.
Evidence table
| Evidence tier | A · Strong |
|---|---|
| Evidence score | 58.0 (trials 19.0, literature 19.0, tier 15, approved bonus 5.0) |
| Registered trials | 8 total: 0 recruiting, 3 active / not yet recruiting, 4 completed, 1 other |
| Linked publications | 8 (5 clinical trial publications, 3 randomised controlled trial publications) |
| Agent type | Drug (Small molecule) |
| Development stage (any indication) | Approved |
| Mechanism / class | agonist |
| Data sources | DGIdb |
| Linked via biomarker / target | ADRB2 |
How the evidence score is calculated
- Each registered trial scores by status (recruiting / active / enrolling 3, completed 2.5, not yet recruiting 2, unknown 1, terminated / withdrawn / suspended 0.5) plus a phase bonus (phase 3-4 +2, phase 2 +1, phase 1 +0.5). The trial component is capped at 30.
- Each literature item scores by design (Cochrane review 5, meta-analysis 4, systematic review 3, RCT 3, clinical trial publication 2, curated reference 1.5, other PubMed record 1). The literature component is capped at 30.
- The existing evidence tier adds 15 (A / Strong), 10 (B / Moderate), 5 (C / Preliminary) or 0 (D / Anecdotal).
- Agents approved for any indication (max clinical phase 4) add 5, because an approved agent has an established safety profile that lowers the barrier to repurposing trials.
- The score ranks what has been studied, not what works. It does not read effect sizes or directions of effect.
Registered clinical trials
| NCT ID | Title | Status | Phase | Enrolment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCT03032965 | Adenosine to Assess Complete Conduction Block During Catheter Ablation of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation 2011 | completed | Phase 2 | 131 |
| NCT05905835 | Treatment of PAF With the Synaptic System 2023 | active, not recruiting | Not applicable | 128 |
| NCT06553391 | Heart Rhythm Changes in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation After Cardiopulmonary Bypass: a Retrospective Analysis 2024 | completed | Not applicable | 106 |
| NCT01377636 | Measurement of Bispectral Index and Awareness in Patients Undergoing Electrophysiology Studies With Isoproterenol 2009 | completed | Not applicable | 20 |
| NCT03646643 | Prospective Elimination Of Distal Coronary Sinus-Left Atrial Connections for Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Trial 2018 | completed | Not applicable | 35 |
| NCT06929897 | PVI Alone vs PVI With Posterior Wall Isolation for Pulse-Field Ablation in Persistent AF 2025 | not yet recruiting | Not applicable | 214 |
| NCT07197931 | EXPORT Randomized Trial 2025 | not yet recruiting | Not applicable | 406 |
| NCT01696344 | Does Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Termination Without Additional Ablation Influence Outcome? 2012 | status unknown | Not applicable | 60 |
Published literature
- Clinical trial publication PVI With CF-Sensing Large-Tip Focal PFA Catheter With 3D Mapping for Paroxysmal AF: Omny-IRE 3-Month ResultsDuytschaever M, Grimaldi M, De Potter T et al. · JACC. Clinical electrophysiology · 2025 · PMID 40340298
- Clinical trial publication A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Intravenous Alcohol to Assess Changes in Atrial ElectrophysiologyMarcus GM, Dukes JW, Vittinghoff E et al. · JACC. Clinical electrophysiology · 2021 · PMID 33516710
- Clinical trial publication High-Dose Dobutamine for Inducibility of Atrial Arrhythmias During Atrial Fibrillation AblationGianni C, Sanchez JE, Mohanty S et al. · JACC. Clinical electrophysiology · 2020 · PMID 33334450
- Clinical trial publication Pulmonary Vein Isolation With a Novel Multielectrode Radiofrequency Balloon Catheter That Allows Directionally Tailored Energy Delivery: Short-Term Outcomes From a Multicenter First-in-Human Study (RADIANCE)Reddy VY, Schilling R, Grimaldi M et al. · Circulation. Arrhythmia and electrophysiology · 2019 · PMID 31826648
- Clinical trial publication Pulmonary Vein Isolation With Very High Power, Short Duration, Temperature-Controlled Lesions: The QDOT-FAST TrialReddy VY, Grimaldi M, De Potter T et al. · JACC. Clinical electrophysiology · 2019 · PMID 31320006
- Randomized controlled trial Is adenosine useful for the identification of atrial fibrillation triggers?Tutuianu C, Pap R, Riesz T et al. · Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2019 · PMID 30375070
- Randomized controlled trial Pace-capture-guided ablation after contact-force-guided pulmonary vein isolation: results of the randomized controlled DRAGON trialMasuda M, Fujita M, Iida O et al. · Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2018 · PMID 29161369
- Randomized controlled trial Role of adenosine after antral pulmonary vein isolation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: A randomized controlled trialGhanbari H, Jani R, Hussain-Amin A et al. · Heart rhythm · 2016 · PMID 26455342
Mechanism and notes
Recorded mechanism or class: agonist.
OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ADRB2. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Frequently asked questions
Is Isoproterenol approved for Atrial Fibrillation?
Isoproterenol has reached the approved stage (maximum clinical phase 4) for at least one indication, so its use in Atrial Fibrillation would be drug repurposing rather than first-in-human development. This does not mean it is approved for Atrial Fibrillation. Approval status for the specific indication should always be confirmed with the relevant regulator and prescribing information.
Is Isoproterenol in clinical trials for Atrial Fibrillation?
ClinicalTrials.gov lists 8 registered trials linking Isoproterenol to Atrial Fibrillation: 3 are active or not yet recruiting; 4 have completed; 1 is terminated, withdrawn, suspended or of unknown status. The most advanced is Phase 2 (NCT03032965). The largest enrolment is 406 participants (NCT07197931). Registration activity spans 2009 to 2025.
What does the evidence show for Isoproterenol in Atrial Fibrillation?
Isoproterenol has 4 completed trials and 8 linked publications for Atrial Fibrillation. Completed trials may or may not have posted results; follow the NCT links to check. OSMF's existing evidence tier for this pair is A (Strong), derived from the strength of the disease association recorded in DGIdb, in this case via the biomarker or target ADRB2. The tier describes how well the drug-disease link is documented, not how well the drug works.
Cite this page
Data: ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed, Open Targets, ChEMBL, DGIdb and the OSMF therapeutic agent database. Last updated 2026-07-05. Page built 2026-10-07.