A major new study has found that beta blockers—drugs often prescribed after a heart attack—may not actually help certain patients.
This discovery could change how doctors treat people after a heart attack, especially those with normal heart function.
For more than 40 years, beta blockers have been a standard part of heart attack recovery. They were believed to help prevent future heart problems. But the new REBOOT trial, led by top researchers in Spain and the United States, shows that these drugs may not be needed for people who had a simple (uncomplicated) heart attack and still have a strong heart.
The study was led by Dr. Valentin Fuster of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and CNIC in Spain. The findings were presented at a large heart conference in Madrid and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The REBOOT trial followed more than 8,500 patients in Spain and Italy for nearly four years. All had experienced a heart attack but had normal heart function afterward. Half were given beta blockers, and half were not. Everyone else received the usual care.
In the end, both groups had similar results. There were no major differences in deaths, new heart attacks, or hospital visits for heart failure. This means the beta blockers didn’t add any clear benefit.
Another surprising finding came when researchers looked at the results for women. Women taking beta blockers had a slightly higher chance of dying or being hospitalized. This risk was only seen in women with completely normal heart function. Women with even slight heart damage did not have this increased risk.
Beta blockers are not without side effects. They can cause tiredness, low heart rate, and sexual problems. Since many heart attack patients are already taking several medications, dropping beta blockers for some people could make treatment simpler and safer.
In the past, beta blockers helped because they lowered the heart’s workload and prevented dangerous heart rhythms. But medicine has changed a lot.
Doctors can now open blocked arteries quickly, preventing much of the damage that used to happen after a heart attack. This means fewer people suffer the kind of heart stress that beta blockers were meant to treat.
Dr. Borja Ibáñez, who led the trial, said this study could reshape treatment around the world. Right now, more than 80% of people with a simple heart attack leave the hospital with a prescription for beta blockers. The REBOOT trial suggests many of them don’t need it.
The research team said the trial had no funding from drug companies and was done purely to improve care based on science.
This new information will likely lead doctors to change their approach. For some patients, it may mean fewer pills, fewer side effects, and an easier recovery after a heart attack.
The study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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