Low beta blocker dose can put patients at risk for subsequent heart attacks (USA)

"For nearly 40 years a class of drugs known as beta blockers have been proven to increase patients' survival prospects following a heart attack by decreasing the cardiac workload and oxygen demand on the heart. In a breakthrough study released in the American Heart Journal, Northwestern Medicine cardiologist Jeffrey J. Goldberger found the majority of patients are frequently not receiving a large enough dose of these drugs, which can put their recovery from heart attacks and overall health into peril. "Only 46% of patients studied were taking 50% or more of the target dose of beta blockers shown to be beneficial in clinical trials," said Goldberger, director of cardiac electrophysiology research for the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "Furthermore, 76% of patients were still being treated with the same amount of medication given at discharge. This means that for the vast majority of patients, there wasn't even an attempt to increase their dose." Goldberger added that patients not getting the right amount of beta blockers is a problem nationwide. "Beta blockers work to keep patients alive after a heart attack, so proper dosing of beta blockers can save many lives," said Goldberger. Northwestern Memorial was one of 19 sites that participated in the PACEmaker and Beta-blocker Therapy Post-Myocardial Infarction (PACEMI) Trial Registry. Nearly 2,000 patients, who had been treated for a heart attack, were enrolled across the sites" - EurekAlert

Beta-blockers 'cut cancer spread' (UK)

"Blood pressure drugs may be able to reduce the ability of breast cancer to spread around the body, researchers have told a European conference. A joint UK and German study found that cancer patients taking beta-blockers had a lower risk of dying. The drugs may block hormones that trigger the spread of cancer cells. However, experts stressed that more evidence from bigger studies would be needed before the drug could be given as part of routine treatment.

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir James Black dies

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir James Black has died at the age of 85. Sir James was considered one of the great Scottish scientists of the 20th Century and is credited with having invented beta-blocker drugs in 1962. He was born in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, grew up in Fife, and studied medicine at St Andrew's University. In 1988 he won the Nobel Prize for medicine and was given the UK's highest honour, the Order of Merit, in 2000. Beta-blockers now play an essential role in the treatment of angina and heart attacks

ACC, AHA update guidelines for beta blockers (USA)

"The use of beta blockers in patients undergoing noncardiac surgeries should be initiated well in advance of procedures and titrated up as blood pressure and heart rate allow, according to an update of guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, or ACC, and the American Heart Association, or AHA. Kirsten Fleischmann, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco and chair of the group that reviewed new evidence on the perioperative use of beta blockers, said in a news release that physicians must be vigilant in assessing patients' cardiac risk and weighing that risk against potential side effects of therapy"

Heart pill to erase bad memories

Scientists believe a common heart medicine may be able to erase fearful memories from the mind. The Dutch investigators believe beta-blocker drugs could help people suffering from the emotional after effects of traumatic experiences. They believe the drug alters how memories are recalled after carrying out the study of 60 people, Nature Neuroscience reports. But British experts questioned the ethics of tampering with the mind - BBC

Beta-blockers can lead to heart problems, new research shows

"Beta-blockers, once widely used to lower blood pressure, may actually lead to heart problems, researchers have warned. The drugs work by slowing the heart rate and so reducing blood pressure - which has been shown to have beneficial effects on people who have had a heart attack or who have heart failure. However, the latest study suggests beta-blockers do not help people suffering from hypertension. Participants treated with beta-blockers achieved lower heart rates than did other patients. However, heart rate lowering with beta-blockers increased the risks of dying and of having a heart attack or stroke, and developing heart failure, according to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology" - Daily Mail

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

New beta-blocker to offer hope to heart and lung sufferers

The University of Nottingham (UK) has been awarded GBP2.8 million by the Wellcome Trust to develop a new drug that could ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of heart disease patients who are unable to take beta-blockers. Source: Science Daily