April 25, 2024

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Long-term use of beta-blockers after heart attack has no cardiovascular benefits

Long-term use of beta-blockers after heart attack has no cardiovascular benefits



 

Long-term use of beta-blockers after heart attack has no cardiovascular benefits.

Beta-blockers are a no-brainer prescription after a heart attack, but a new study, the largest of its kind, finds that taking beta-blockers after a heart attack in people without heart complications – Beta-blockers over a year did not improve cardiovascular disease outcomes.

The results may lead to a re-evaluation of the use of this commonly used drug.

 

Long-term use of beta-blockers after heart attack has no cardiovascular benefits

 

 

Beta-blockers — which have been around for more than 50 years — block the release of the stress hormone adrenaline, making the heart beat slower and with less force and lower blood pressure.

 

In 2022, approximately 30 million Americans will be taking beta-blockers.

They are prescribed regularly after a heart attack (myocardial infarction) to reduce the risk of further heart attacks, but they also have disadvantages.

Common side effects of beta-blockers include feeling dizzy, cold fingers and toes, fatigue, and weight gain. Less commonly, they can cause depression and trouble sleeping.

 

A recent study looked at 43,618 adult patients who had had a heart attack but did not later develop heart failure or other cardiac complications to see if there was any benefit to taking beta-blockers long-term. This is the largest study ever done.

 

Many studies on the use of beta-blockers after a heart attack date back 25 years or more, so the researchers wanted to know whether their use should be reconsidered in light of changes in medical treatment.

For example, drugs that prevent blood clots from forming and growing in the blood vessels of the heart are now commonly used as first-line treatment.

 

“Recommendations regarding the duration of beta-blocker therapy are variable or No, because this question has not been specifically assessed in clinical trials. Most patients are taking daily medications for many years after a myocardial infarction because they believe they are beneficial.”

 

The researchers obtained data from Sweden’s National Coronary Heart Disease Registry, the Swedish Network System for Strengthening and Developing Evidence-Based Care in Cardiac Assessment According to Recommended Therapy (SWEDEHEART).

 

Participants in the study had heart attacks requiring hospitalization between 2005 and 2016, but none of them had heart failure or left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD), a serious complication of heart attacks, Can cause the lower left chamber of the heart (the ventricle) to pump less efficiently up to a year after a heart attack.

 

The researchers compared those who were treated with beta-blockers with those who were not, and found that after an average of four and a half years of monitoring, treatment with beta-blockers for more than a year was associated with cardiovascular Improvement of the disease does not matter.

 

The researchers say the study’s findings should lead to a rethinking of the use of beta-blockers to treat uncomplicated patients after a heart attack, especially given the risk of side effects such as fatigue and depression. For them, it becomes a quality of life issue.

 

They recommend further research to confirm the relationship between beta-blocker use and cardiac outcomes in these patients.

The study was published in the journal Heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term use of beta-blockers after heart attack has no cardiovascular benefits

(source:internet, reference only)


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