Study: Stable MI Survivors Can Safely Stop Beta-Blockers

A new study has found that stable heart attack survivors without heart failure or reduced heart function can safely stop taking beta-blockers after at least one year, with outcomes comparable to those who continue the medication long-term. The research, involving more than 2,500 patients in South Korea, was presented Monday at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The trial, known as SMARTDECISION, examined whether discontinuing beta-blockers increases risks for low-risk patients who had remained stable following their myocardial infarction. Beta-blockers, which slow heart rate and lower blood pressure by blocking adrenaline effects, have been a standard lifelong therapy after heart attacks for decades. However, advances in emergency treatments like artery-opening procedures and other preventive drugs have prompted questions about their ongoing necessity.

Researchers from Samsung Medical Center in Seoul enrolled 2,540 adults, with an average age of 63 and about 87 percent men, who had taken beta-blockers for at least one year post-heart attack without new cardiac issues....