Association Between Beta-Blocker Dose And Cardiovascular Outcomes After Myocardial Infarction: Insights From The Swedeheart Registry

Aims Dose-dependent effects of beta-blockers on survival and cardiovascular outcomes after myocardial infarction (MI) are not well understood. We investigated the long-term risk of cardiovascular events in patients with different doses of beta-blockers after MI.Methods and results This was a nationwide observational study linking morbidity, mortality, socioeconomic, and medication data from Swedish national registries. Between 2006 and 2015, 97 575 unique patients with first-time MI were included. In total, 33 126 (33.9%) patients were discharged with >= 50% of the target beta-blocker dose and 64449 (66.1%) patients with <50% of the target beta-blocker dose used in previous randomized trials. The primary composite endpoint was re-infarction or all-cause death within 1 year from discharge. Multivariable adjusted 1-year follow-up estimates using mixed effects Cox regression [HR (95% CI)] showed that patients treated with >= 50% of the target dose had a similar risk of the composite endpoint [1.03 (0.99 1.08)] and a somewhat higher risk when stroke, atrial fibrillation, or heart failure hospitalization were added to the composite endpoint [1.08 (1.04 1.12)], compared with patients on <50% of the target beta-blocker dose. Results remained similar up to 5 years of follow-up and consistent across relevant patient subgroups, including patients who developed heart failure during the index hospitalization.Conclusions In contrast to doses of beta-blockers used in previous trials, >= 50% of the target beta-blocker dose was not associated with superior cardiovascular outcomes up to 5 years as compared with <50% of the target dose. Contemporary randomized clinical trials are needed to clarify the optimal dose of beta-blockers after MI.