Scientists have recognized the ineffectiveness of constant use of certain medications against the background of heart problems

Beta blockers are only effective in cases of heart failure

Patients following a heart attack are unnecessarily taking beta blockers, although they do not provide clear benefit, a study has found. For about half of patients, this class of drugs does not reduce the risk of death or further heart attacks.

The daily pill, which can cause fatigue, nausea and in some cases sexual dysfunction, is offered to most heart attack patients. According to the Daily Mail, around 60,000 people in the UK are prescribed beta blockers every year, and many continue to take the pills for life.

However, the study found that for about half of patients they did not reduce the risk of death or further heart attacks. Experts say the findings will change the way heart attack patients are treated on the NHS, freeing tens of thousands of people from unpleasant drug-related side effects.

Consultant cardiologist at Barts Heart Center in London, Malcolm Finlay, says: “Beta blockers are still standard treatment for almost everyone who has a heart attack, according to the NHS. If we could safely stop taking them, thousands of patients would avoid side effects.”

When beta blockers were first used in the 1960s, they were seen as one of the most effective ways to ensure that patients would not suffer another attack.

The pills block the action of hormones such as adrenaline, which are known to increase heart rate and blood pressure. This reduces the load on the heart, helping the organ recover from the stress caused by the attack.

However, over the past three decades, more effective treatments for heart attack have emerged, including coronary angioplasty, which involves surgically inserting a balloon into a blocked artery to reopen it. This is usually followed by the placement of a stent, a small mesh tube that holds the artery open.

Game-changing findings that the pill is ineffective for many were announced yesterday at the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta, Georgia.

A study of 5,000 patients who had recently had a heart attack in 45 countries concluded that the only patients who may benefit from beta blockers are those with heart failure, an incurable disease that causes the heart to stop working effectively. Only 50% of heart attack patients suffer from this disease.

Interventional cardiologist at Lund University in Sweden and study author Troels Indigen notes: “This study found that for patients without heart failure, there is no evidence that routine use of beta blockers is beneficial.”

Beta blockers are used to treat a number of other conditions, including angina – chest pain caused by narrowing of the arteries supplying blood to the heart – and atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat).