Beta-blocker prescription and outcomes in uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction: Insight from the ePARIS registry.

• Beta-blocker efficiency in reducing mortality after MI is well established. • This efficiency was demonstrated before the reperfusion therapy era. • Uncomplicated MI has a low risk of subsequent mortality and cardiovascular events. • It is easily identified by LVEF ≥ 40% and absence of recurrent events at 6 months. • Patients with uncomplicated MI seem ideal candidates for beta-blocker withdrawal. • This hypothesis was tested in the randomized AβYSS trial. Systematic prescription of beta-blockers after myocardial infarction remains an open question in the era of revascularization, especially for patients with uncomplicated myocardial infarction. To evaluate in a real-life registry the proportion of patients with uncomplicated myocardial infarction (preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and no cardiovascular event within the first 6 months), and to report their characteristics, outcomes and beta-blocker use. We included 1887 consecutive patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction from the prospective ePARIS registry. Patients were divided into three groups: the "uncomplicated myocardial infarction" group (n = 1060), defined by a left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 40% and a 6-month period free from cardiovascular events; the "complicated myocardial infarction" group (n = 366), defined by a left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 40% and a recurrent cardiovascular event in the first 6 months; and the "left ventricular dysfunction" group (n = 461), defined by a left ventricular ejection fraction < 40%. During a median follow-up of 2.7 years (interquartile range 1.0–4.9 years), the "uncomplicated myocardial infarction" group was at low mortality risk compared with the "complicated myocardial infarction" group (hazard ratio 0.38, 95% confidence interval 0.25–0.58; P < 0.01) and the "left ventricular dysfunction" group (hazard ratio 0.22, 95% confidence interval 0.15–0.32; P < 0.01). Beta-blockers were prescribed at discharge predominantly in the "uncomplicated myocardial infarction" group (93%) compared with 87% in the "complicated myocardial infarction" group and 81% in the "left ventricular dysfunction" group. Beta-blockers are less prescribed in patients who may need them the most. The benefit of beta-blockers–largely prescribed in lower-risk patients–remains to be shown beyond the first 6 months for these patients with no left ventricular dysfunction and no recurrent events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]