title: Diabetic patients and beta-blockers after acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: Whether diabetic patients may benefit, compared with non-diabetic patients, from beta-blocker therapy following acute myocardial infarction was examined in a large multicentre cohort of 2024 patients, including 340 diabetics, 281 of whom survived hospitalization. One-year mortality following discharge was 17% for diabetics compared with 10% for non-diabetics (P less than 0.001). However, diabetics discharged on beta-blockers had a 1-year mortality of only 10%, compared with 23% for diabetics not on beta-blockers. In non-diabetics, mortality rates were 7% and 13% for those taking and not taking beta-blockers, respectively. Bias in patient selection for beta-blocker therapy might be responsible for the trends exhibited in our population since patients were not randomized to treatment. In diabetics, evidence of pulmonary congestion on X-ray was more prevalent than in non-diabetics; this appeared to be true both for patients taking beta-blockers and for those not taking beta-blockers. However, even in diabetics without evidence of pulmonary congestion on X-ray, 1-year mortality was 7% vs 17% for those with and without beta-blocker therapy, respectively (P less than 0.04). In multivariate analysis, beta-blocker use was an independent predictor of 1-year cardiac survival following hospital discharge for all diabetics, even those without evidence for pulmonary congestion on X-ray, but not for non-diabetics. These data suggest a beneficial effect, but a definitive answer regarding the benefit of beta-blockade in diabetic patients after acute myocardial infarction would require a prospective, randomized study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego Medical Center, Veterans Administration Hospital.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kjekshus
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gilpin
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cali
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Blackey
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Henning
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ross
mesh_terms: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D011433:Propranolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000503:physiopathology; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D011433:Propranolol