Researchers have known for years that beta blockers -- medications that control high blood pressure and help the heart beat more efficiently -- can help men with heart failure. But they weren't sure if women also benefited.
A recent study shows that women with heart failure do benefit from beta blockers, according to the August issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood adequately through the body.
Researchers collected data from 900 women who participated in the three largest studies done on beta blockers. The results, published in the journal Circulation, showed an overall 21 percent reduction in death and hospitalization for women taking beta blockers compared with women taking placebos. Hospitalizations due to a worsening of the women's heart failure dropped by 42 percent.
RSS