Beta-blockers raise the risk of a heart attack after surgery

"The research by scientists at the the Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System, Boston University and Harvard Medical School has found that patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery appear to have higher rates of heart attack and death within 30 days of their surgery if they were taking beta-blockers. For patients with a risk of death, stroke or heart attack, even non-cardiac surgery carries risks and the researchers say preventing such cardiac complications around the time of surgery events is the subject of intense research. The research is published in the October issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals