In COPD, Beta-Blockers Lower Mortality After MI

By Joe Elia

Beta-blocker use, sometimes limited in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease because of worry over inducing bronchospasm, offers a survival advantage after myocardial infarction in such patients, a BMJ study shows.

Researchers used U.K. national databases to examine outcomes in 1063 patients with COPD who were hospitalized after sustaining a first MI.

Patients prescribed beta-blockers during their hospital stay showed a mortality hazard ratio of 0.50 relative to those not prescribed them. Patients already on the drugs before the MI also showed a significant survival advantage (HR, 0.59).

The authors note that only about one third of the patients were prescribed a beta-blocker during their hospitalization, adding that use of the drugs in the U.S. has increased in recent years and now exceeds 90% of such patients.