Half of all patients discharged from hospital after a heart attack are treated with beta-blockers unnecessarily, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Tomas Jernberg, Professor at Karolinska Institutet and lead researcher of the study, believes that this will influence future practice. When patients are discharged from hospitals after an acute heart attack, they are regularly prescribed beta-blockers.Patients with a history of small heart attacks and preserved heart function may not benefit from beta-blocker drugs like metoprolol and bisoprolol, according to new research. Approximately half of these patients do not see any improvement from the treatment and should not receive it at all. Lead researcher Professor Tomas Jernberg from the Department of Clinical Sciences at Karolinska Institutet believes that this study will have a significant impact on future patient treatment. The study has already been referenced in the European guidelines for cardiac care.”The demand for the results is high,” he states.
The research was conducted by experts from Karolinska Institutet, Lund University, and Uppsala University. Over 5,000 patients from 45 hospitals in Sweden, Estonia, and New Zealand who experienced a minor heart attack were randomly selected to either receive beta-blockers at discharge or not.
The study commenced in September 2017 and patients were monitored until November 2023. By the end of the study, 7.9 percent of those who received beta-blockers experienced the primary outcome of death or a new heart attack, compared to 8.3 percent of those who did not receive beta-blockers. This discrepancy is not considered statistically significant.
There were no differences between the groups in the secondary outcomes. This means that the drug treatment becomes simpler and cheaper for all parties, according to Tomas Jernberg.
Typically, new research results in the addition of a medication to a patient’s regimen. However, this study shows that patients will benefit from taking one fewer drug. It is important to note, however, that patients should not stop their treatment without consulting their healthcare provider. The current study only examines the effect of starting treatment after a small heart attack, not after a larger one, and does not show anything about the effects of stopping treatment altogether.
Treatment should always be discussed with a doctor before stopping medication. This is important for a few reasons. There may be other underlying causes or diagnoses for the use of beta-blockers. It’s also crucial to gradually stop beta-blockers to avoid heart palpitations and discomfort. Tomas Jernberg emphasizes the importance of consulting with a doctor before stopping any heart medication. The research was supported by the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.The study was conducted by the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation. The researchers confirmed that there are no conflicts of interest.
Information:
In Sweden, approximately 20,000 individuals experience a heart attack each year. Out of those, half undergo a small heart attack and still retain heart function. This means that the heart is able to pump out over 50 percent of the volume in the left chamber of the heart, which is also known as preserved left ventricular systolic function.
The practice of prescribing beta-blockers to all heart attack patients can be traced back to the 1980s when studies showed its clear benefits. However, since then, other cardiovasculMedical advancements have led to improved treatments and diagnostics, resulting in the detection of many heart attacks that were previously not classified as infarctions. Additionally, the incidence of heart attacks has decreased since the 1980s, leading to smaller heart attacks and a higher proportion of people with preserved left ventricular function.
Â
