It can be called the "granddaughter of adrenalin" in the line of β2 agonists that gave quick relief for bronchospasm and asthma.

In the western United States, it was the drug of choice in the late 1970s and early 1980s for nebulization ("breathing treatment") to relieve airway spasm.

All of the early β2 agonist catecholamines used for bronchospasm had strong side effects, with increase in heart rate as the most common and most problematic.

Increase in blood pressure also occurred in a small but significant percentage of cases, but also was almost invariably transient.

By the late 1980s, isoetharine was largely replaced by orciprenaline (metaproterenol), which seemed to have slightly less cardiac side effect and lasted a couple of hours longer.