Posted on 10/02/2012 5:40:29 PM PDT by Olog-hai
New research suggests that beta-blocker pills don't prevent heart attacks, strokes or cardiac deaths in patients with heart disease, but doctors are torn over whether there's enough in the study to make them want to stop prescribing the drugs. Beta blockers have been a standard heart medication for decades.
The study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association, looked at nearly 45,000 patients with prior heart attacks, coronary artery disease or risk factors for coronary artery disease, and found that those on beta blockers didn't show significantly lower rates of heart attack, stroke or cardiac death than those not on the medication. …
Some doctors say they are glad beta blockers are being questioned because their use had been "written in stone" for so many years, but others say using a non-randomized data sample is not as reliable as a randomized drug trial. …
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Caffeine bad, now caffeine good. Nicotine bad, now nicotine good (not smoked of course). Oat bran good, now bad. The food pyramid is now upside down. Chocolate bad, now good. Every time you turn around what was good is now bad and what was bad is now good. Then it flips again.
Kill off all the folks over 55 NOW!
Hadn’t see it but may look it up. There was another movie about a cigarette salesman who went around promoting his brand. Don’t remember the title but it was pretty funny.
Health/Science ping!
I take one for a slight arrhythmia. Works well to control it.
Sounds like this “study” is more government money by quacks flushed down the drain, then.
My Cardiologist is a senior member of the medical staff at three of Boston’s major hospitals.When *he* tells me that it’s time to stop my beta blocker I will.But not before then.
They are good for rapid heart rate problems, such as those caused by atrial fibrillation or heart failure, but I don't think this study was looking at that aspect of their use.
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