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news.A study sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline suggests that heart failure patients who are given beta-blockers upon being discharged from hospital are at a substantially lower risk of death than patients not given the heart drug.
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Based on 60-90 day follow-up data from the study known as Optimize-HF, beta-blocker use at hospital discharge in patients with heart failure improved treatment rates and was associated with a substantially lower risk of mortality.
The analysis included 48,681 patients from 259 hospitals, with follow-up data from 5,703 patients. The patients had a mean age of 72.9 years, and were 52% female.
“The availability of these first-of-their-kind follow-up data reinforces the benefits of beta-blockers for heart failure patients,” said Dr Gregg Fonarow, director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center in Los Angeles. “My hope is that Optimize-HF data will help address the continued underutilization of beta-blockers and other evidence-based therapies and that we can get these medications to more heart failure patients and improve the overall system of care.”