beta-Blockade and acute myocardial infarction

Results from experimental and clinical studies suggest that beta-blockade may have beneficial effects in acute myocardial infarction. These effects relate to decrease of cardiac work and improvement of metabolism without deleterious effects on perfusion of the ischemic myocardium. Several well designed randomized controlled studies with beta blockers have been carried out in the acute phase of myocardial infarction. Although beneficial effects could be demonstrated in some subsets, most studies however included small numbers of patients, thus indicating that more large scale studies are necessary to assess the efficacy of beta blockers in reducing infarct size and hospital mortality.