Bisoprolol vs Atenolol: side effects in FDA adverse event reports
At a glance
| Bisoprolol | Atenolol | |
|---|---|---|
| Drug class | – | beta-Adrenergic Blocker |
| Brand names | Bisoprolol Fumarate | – |
| FAERS reports | 135,055 | 132,467 |
| Serious | 97% | 70% |
| Death outcome | 14,918 | 11,274 |
| Boxed warning | No | No |
Signals both drugs share
No strong shared signal after removing coding and lab terms.
Labeled signals distinctive to Bisoprolol
- Cardiac failure chronic — n=514, PRR 21.2 Labeled (related wording)
- Tension headache — n=431, PRR 17.2 Labeled (related wording)
Labeled signals distinctive to Atenolol
- Bradycardia — n=2,220, PRR 6.9 Labeled adverse reaction
- Renal failure acute — n=1,472, PRR 5.6 Labeled (related wording)
- Coronary artery disease — n=1,053, PRR 5.6 Labeled adverse reaction
- Sinus bradycardia — n=518, PRR 8.9 Labeled adverse reaction
- Renal failure chronic — n=299, PRR 6.3 Labeled (related wording)
- Blood pressure inadequately controlled — n=278, PRR 7.6 Labeled (related wording)
Common questions
Which has more reported side effects, Bisoprolol or Atenolol?
Bisoprolol has 135,055 FAERS reports and Atenolol 132,467. More reports does not mean more dangerous: volume follows how widely and how long a drug has been used, prescription vs over-the-counter status, and publicity. The seriousness share (97% vs 70%) is a better like-for-like signal of the kind of problems reported.
Which side effects do Bisoprolol and Atenolol share?
They share no strong flagged signal after artifacts and lab terms are removed.
Is Bisoprolol or Atenolol safer?
FAERS cannot answer that: it has no denominator and no comparator. Use this page to see which risks are already on each label and which signals are unlabeled, then check the prescribing information and your clinician for your situation.
Sources: openFDA FAERS pair statistics (OpenPV build 2026-09-14), FDA labels via openFDA, openFDA count queries for seriousness and deaths. Pair chosen because it is a commonly searched comparison. Generated 2026-10-08.