1997 Volume 34 Issue 4 Pages 273-277
We retrospectively analyzed the effect of β-blocking agents on the incidence of cardiac events in elderly patients who had had myocardial infarction. A total of 1169 patients who had had a myocardial infarction (age, 60.2±11.4 years) were followed for a mean of 18.0±19.7 months and the incidence of cardiac events (fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death, and death due to congestive heart failure) was computed. There were 21 cardiac events in 653 patients who received β-blocking agents (3.2%) and 39 events in 516 patients who did not receive β-blocking agents (7.6%, p<0.01). Among patients less than 50 years old, the incidences of cardiac events were 4.1% in those who received β-blocking agents and 7.6% in those who did not; among those 50 to 59 years old the incidences were 3.0% and 7.5%, respectively; among those 60 to 69 years old they were 4.3% and 6.0%, respectively; and among those 70 years old or older they were 0.8% and 11.4%, respectively (p<0.01). We found that β-blocking agents prevented cardiac events both in elderly and in younger patients after myocardial infarction.
