Overview

• Women assigned to beta-blockers had higher rates of death, repeat heart attack, or hospitalization for heart failure, including a 2.7% higher risk of death than women not treated.
• The REBOOT trial randomized patients with left ventricular ejection fraction above 40% within two weeks of discharge across 109 hospitals, comparing beta-blocker therapy with no beta-blocker.
• Across roughly four years of follow-up, there was no overall reduction in death, recurrent heart attacks, or heart-failure hospitalizations among those given beta-blockers.
• The results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid and published in the European Heart Journal.
• Investigators said the findings should drive a reassessment of long-standing practice given modern cardiac care and known side effects, while advising patients not to stop medication without consulting their doctor.