Association of beta-blocker therapy at discharge with clinical outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention

Objectives This study sought to investigate the association of beta-blocker therapy at discharge with clinical outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Background Limited data are available on the efficacy of beta-blocker therapy for secondary prevention in STEMI patients. Methods Between November 1, 2005 and September 30, 2010, 20,344 patients were enrolled in nationwide, prospective, multicenter registries. Among these, we studied STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI who were discharged alive (n = 8,510). We classified patients into the beta-blocker group (n = 6,873) and no-beta-blocker group (n = 1,637) according to the use of beta-blockers at discharge. Propensity-score matching analysis was also performed in 1,325 patient triplets. The primary outcome was all-cause death. Results The median follow-up duration was 367 days (interquartile range: 157 to 440 days). All-cause death occurred in 146 patients (2.1%) of the beta-blocker group versus 59 patients (3.6%) of the no-beta-blocker group (p < 0.001). After 2:1 propensity-score matching, beta-blocker therapy was associated with a lower incidence of all-cause death (2.8% vs. 4.1%, adjusted hazard ratio: 0.46, 95% confidence interval: 0.27 to 0.78, p = 0.004). The association with better outcome of beta-blocker therapy in terms of all-cause death was consistent across various subgroups, including patients with relatively low-risk profiles such as ejection fraction >40% or single-vessel disease. Conclusions Beta-blocker therapy at discharge was associated with improved survival in STEMI patients treated with primary PCI. Our results support the current American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines, which recommend long-term beta-blocker therapy in all patients with STEMI regardless of reperfusion therapy or risk profile.