- New research suggests that beta-blockers, commonly prescribed after heart attacks, may not be effective for the majority of patients and could even be detrimental to women.
- A study published in the European Heart Journal found that women with minimal heart damage post-heart attack were significantly more likely to suffer another heart attack, require hospitalisation for heart failure, or die if treated with beta-blockers, especially at high doses.
- This adverse effect was not observed in men, indicating a notable gender disparity in drug response, which experts suggest could be due to physiological differences such as heart size.
- The findings specifically apply to patients with a normal left ventricular ejection fraction (above 50 per cent), whereas beta-blockers remain beneficial for those with more severe heart damage (below 40 per cent).
- A larger clinical trial, REBOOT, further supported that beta-blockers offer no benefit for patients, regardless of gender, whose hearts were not significantly impaired after a heart attack, despite their continued widespread use.
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