Heart attack treatment drugs under fire

The drugs beta-blockers and statins – used in Australia to slow the heartbeat and lower cholesterol respectively – have been criticised by a Geelong specialist for being used routinely on patients in the belief they will reduce post-surgical heart attacks.

At present thousands of surgery patients every year in Australia are given beta-blockers, which slow the heartbeat, and cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins just before or after non-cardiac surgery.

But an editorial published in the ‘British Medical Journal’ by Australian specialists states that the basis for the practice is flawed and the drugs should not be given for this purpose.

Co-author Stephen Bolsin, director of anaesthesia at Geelong Hospital and associate professor of patient safety, said the most recent and reliable studies suggested that the drugs had no effect on reducing complications. Patients were still exposed to side effects, which with beta-blockers could cause the heartbeat to slow too much or the blood pressure to drop dangerously.

The statins are associated with liver and muscle toxicity, are more expensive than beta-blockers, and have no patient benefit, according to associate professor Bolsin. But he still recommended that patients “already receiving beta-blockers or statins before surgery should continue with treatment”.