Studies: Beta-Blockers Are Ineffective — And Also Dangerous For Some
The drugs have been shown to have no benefit for the majority of patients. Also, researchers found an increased risk of death in some women, according to lead author Dr. Borja Ibáñez, scientific director for Madrid’s National Center for Cardiovascular Investigation.
CNN:
Beta-Blockers: Common Heart Attack Drug Doesn’t Work And May Raise Risk Of Death For Some Women, New Studies Say
A class of drugs called beta-blockers — used for decades as a first-line treatment after a heart attack— doesn’t benefit the vast majority of patients and may contribute to a higher risk of hospitalization and death in some women but not in men, according to groundbreaking new research. (LaMotte, 8/30)
In other news about heart health —
NBC News:
Inflammation May Be A Silent Heart Disease Risk In Healthy Women, New Study Suggests
A silent heart disease risk factor may explain why some women end up having heart attacks and strokes despite seeming like they are healthy, a new study suggests. The analysis of 30 years of data from more than 12,000 women revealed that inflammation was comparable to high LDL cholesterol as a heart disease risk factor, researchers reported Friday at the European Society of Cardiology Congress meeting in Madrid. The results were simultaneously published in the European Heart Journal. (Carroll, 8/30)
CIDRAP:
Shingles Vaccine Linked To Lower Heart Attack, Stroke Risk
A new global systematic literature review and meta-analysis shows that shingles vaccination is associated with a statistically significant lower risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a study presented today at the 2025 European Society of Cardiology Congress. The study is based on 19 studies, and the final analysis included eight observational studies and one randomized controlled trial. Across all nine studies, 53.3% of participants were male. (Soucheray, 8/28)
Fox News:
Blood Pressure Of Older Adults Could Be Lowered By Beetroot Juice, Study Suggests
Beetroot juice, which is rich in nitrates, has been linked to changing the community of bacteria living in the mouth. Now, a new study has found that drinking this juice could reduce older adults’ blood pressure. Researchers at the University of Exeter compared the response of both younger and older participants to the juice and published the study in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. (DiMella, 9/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Chagas Disease: The Deadly Disease You've Never Heard Of Is Here
It’s one of the most insidious diseases you’ve never heard of, but Chagas is here in California and 29 other states across the U.S. It kills more people in Latin America than malaria each year, and researchers think roughly 300,000 people in the U.S. currently have it but are unaware. That’s because the illness tends to lie dormant for years, making itself known only when its victim keels over via heart attack, stroke or death. (Rust, 9/1)
Related news about weight loss treatments —
The Wall Street Journal:
Novo Nordisk Says Wegovy Cuts Heart Risk By 57% Compared With Eli Lilly’s Obesity Drug
Novo Nordisk said its blockbuster Wegovy weight-loss drug cuts the risk of heart attack, stroke or death by 57% compared with Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound. The Danish pharmaceutical giant said Sunday that the study suggests the heart-protective benefits of semaglutide—the active ingredient in Wegovy—may not be the same for all GLP-1 drugs such as tirzepatide, which is the active ingredient in Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound. (Chopping, 9/1)
Bloomberg:
Eli Lilly Partners With China Tech Giant For Obesity Drug Sales
Eli Lilly & Co is partnering with Chinese online healthcare platform JD Health International Inc. to sell its blockbuster drugs for obesity and diabetes online, following in competitors’ footsteps to drive sales through direct-to-consumer channels. The tie-up will ease access to Lilly’s drugs treating obesity, diabetes and alopecia through a one-stop service via JD Health’s platform that combines consultations, prescriptions all the way to the drug delivery and subsequent follow-ups, according to an official statement from Lilly’s official WeChat account on Friday. (Tong, 8/29)
Undark:
How To Help People Stay On Their Weight-Loss Drugs
Roughly 40 percent of adult Americans are considered obese, and weight-loss drugs have come to play a central role in medical treatment over the past few years. As of the spring of 2024, one in eight U.S. adults had taken drugs including Wegovy, Zepbound, or Ozempic, among others, for weight loss. These products belong to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, or GLP-1s, which can be remarkably effective, but when patients go off GLP-1s, weight rebound occurs. And as it turns out, a relatively large portion of patients discontinue these medications within one year. (Cohen, 9/1)
