Beta blockers offer little to no benefit for heart attack patients, study suggests
pharmafile | May 30, 2017 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development | beta-blockers, heart attack
New research from the University of Leeds has called into question the prevalent practice of prescribing beta blockers for heart attack patients. While the drugs do indeed help reduce blood pressure and avoid complications in those who suffer from heart failure, they were found to offer no short-tern survival benefit in those who have been affected by a heart attack alone.
Invented in the 1960s, beta blockers function by inhibiting the effects of adrenaline – a known factor in heart attacks – lowering blood pressure and heart rate. Heart attacks are caused by loss of adequate blood flow to the heart, which causes it to become damaged. However, heart failure differs in that it is caused by weakened muscles in the heart, meaning the organ cannot pump blood round the body effectively. Heart attacks are one of the most common causes of a heart failure.
The research tapped into the Myocardial Ischaemia National Audit Project to examine the data of almost 180,000 patients hospitalised from heart attack but did not suffer from heart failure or left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) between 2007 and 2013. It was discovered that, in the year following a heart attack, those using beta blockers saw no significant difference in mortality rates from those who did not use them – around 95% of patients who suffered attack but not failure saw no benefit.
Lead Investigator and Senior Epidemiologist at Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine, Dr Marlous Hall, explained: “If you look at the patients who had a heart attack but not heart failure, there was no difference in survival rates between those who had been prescribed beta blockers and those that had not.”
The study calls into question the routine prescription of beta blockers for heart attack patients, suggesting they are overprescribed. However, Hall noted that a randomised trial would now need to be conducted in order to truly validate these findings.
“A trial would allow researchers to substantiate these findings and also look at other outcomes, such as whether beta blockers prevent future heart attacks,” he added. “This work would have implications for personalising medications after a heart attack.”
Matt Fellows
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