New Delhi, July 12 (IANS). Heart failure is a serious disease, affecting millions of people around the world. This disease is one of the major reasons for hospitalization. However, the medicine given for this may not be beneficial for all types of patients.
In heart failure, the heart is not able to pump enough blood as per the body’s needs. When the heart is unable to function properly, patients may experience problems such as difficulty breathing, fatigue, swelling in feet and ankles, and difficulty in performing daily tasks.
Heart failure is not the same in every patient. There is a type of this in which the heart muscles become weak and it is not able to pump blood properly. This is called heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Many medicines have been used for its treatment for a long time.
At the same time, there is another type of heart failure, which is seen in almost half of the patients. In this, the heart pumps blood in normal quantity, but the heart muscles become stiff and are not able to expand properly. Because of this, the heart is not filled with enough blood between each heartbeat. This is called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
Doctors often give beta-blocker medicines to heart failure patients with weak hearts. These medicines slow the heartbeat and reduce the pressure on the heart. These drugs have been shown to be beneficial in patients with weak hearts and may also reduce the risk of hospitalization.
But are these medicines equally beneficial for hard heart patients? To find out this, researchers from America’s University of Vermont conducted a big study. The study was led by Dr. Timothy Plante of the University of Vermont and published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers analyzed data from the TOPCAT study, a large clinical trial supported by the US National Institutes of Health. About 80 percent of the patients involved were taking beta-blocker medicines. This gave researchers the opportunity to compare the health outcomes of patients who took the drug and those who did not.
The results of the study were somewhat surprising. Researchers found that congestive heart patients who took beta-blockers had up to a 74 percent higher risk of being hospitalized due to worsening heart failure.
This does not mean that beta-blockers are harmful for every patient, but it does indicate that the medicines which are beneficial for patients with weak hearts, do not necessarily work for patients with strong hearts.
Researchers believe that one reason behind this may be that in HFpEF the heart is already unable to relax properly. Beta-blockers slow the heart rate, which may increase pressure inside the heart in some patients. This can increase problems like water accumulation in the body, shortness of breath and swelling.
However, experts have also said that patients should not stop beta-blocker medicine on their own will. Many people use these medicines for high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, protection after a heart attack, or for other reasons. Any change in the medicine should be made only after consulting the doctor.
This study emphasizes the need to find new and better treatments for the HFpEF type of heart failure.
–IANS
PIM/AS
