Questioning Medicine

Today, we're discussing two groundbreaking studies from 2024 that challenge our understanding of β-blocker therapy for secondary prevention after myocardial infarction, or MI.Let's start with a Swedish study Beta-Blockers after Myocardial Infarction and Preserved Ejection Fraction | New England Journal of Medicine that included over 5,000 patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction after an MI5. The researchers compared long-term beta-blocker therapy with no beta-blocker treatment. Surprisingly, after 3.5 years, there was no significant difference in the primary endpoint of all-cause death or recurrent MI between the two groups5. This suggests that for patients with preserved heart function after an MI, long-term beta-blocker use may not provide additional benefits.  Now, let's turn to a French study involving 3,700 patients who were already on β-blockers following an MI Beta-Blocker Interruption or Continuation after Myocardial Infarction | New England Journal of Medicine7. This trial compared co