A new study says a common drug prescribed after a heart attack does not benefit the vast majority of people who take it.
Not only are beta-blockers, a class of drugs that have been used for decades, ineffective for most people, but they may also contribute to a higher risk of hospitalization and death in women.
“These findings will reshape all international clinical guidelines on the use of beta-blockers in men and women and should spark a long-needed, sex-specific approach to treatment for cardiovascular disease,” said senior study author Dr. Valentin Fuster, president of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in New York City and general director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Investigation in Madrid, per CNN.
The findings, which were published in the European Heart Journal, concluded that women with only minor heart damage after their heart attacks who were given beta-blockers were significantly more likely to have another heart attack or be hospitalized for heart failure than women not given the drug. Furthermore, the beta-blocker group was almost three times more likely to die.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Borja Ibáñez, scientific director for Madrid’s National Center for Cardiovascular Investigation, said the risk was especially significant for women administered high doses of the popular drug.
Importantly, however, the findings of the new study only covered women with a left ventricular ejection fraction above 50%, a level considered normal. Ejection fraction is a way of assessing how well the left side of the heart is moving oxygenated blood. Typically, beta-blockers are prescribed to anyone with a score below 40% following a heart attack.
While beta-blockers are used for their ability to calm heart arrhythmias, which could trigger a subsequent heart attack, they come with side effects.
“The drugs can lead to low blood pressure, low heart rate, erectile dysfunction, fatigue and mood swings,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver.“Anytime we use these drugs, we always have to balance risk versus benefit.