Beta Blockers Raise Stroke, Death Risk After Surgery
HealthDay, May, 2008 by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter
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Patients who received the blood pressure-lowering drugs known as beta blockers after having non-cardiac surgery were at higher risk of dying or having a stroke, a new Canadian study found.
However, the patients receiving the medications were less likely to have a heart attack, according to the report in the May 13 online issue of The Lancet .
"For a decade now there are guidelines saying you should give beta blockers to people having non-cardiac surgery," said lead researcher Dr. P.J. Devereaux, an assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
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The reason for giving beta blockers is that surgery increases the heart's need for oxygen and beta blockers help reduce blood pressure and heart rate, reducing strain on the heart, Devereaux explained.
Around the world, an estimated 100 million people have major non-cardiac surgery each year, so ...
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