Patient-Important Adverse Events of beta-blockers in Frail Older Adults after Acute Myocardial Infarction
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2018-08-20Keywords
Nursing homesAdrenergic beta-antagonists
Myocardial infarction
Activities of daily living
Drug-related side effects and adverse reactions
myocardial infarction
acute
beta-blockers
syncope
hypotension
dyspnea
dizziness
exercise activities of daily living
follow-up
frail elderly
internship and residency
medicare
nursing homes
mortality
orthostasis
adverse effects
medical residencies
prescribing behavior
adverse event
minimum data set
Cardiovascular Diseases
Epidemiology
Geriatrics
Health Services Administration
Health Services Research
Therapeutics
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Background: We evaluated the burden of adverse events (AEs) caused by beta-blocker use after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in frail, older nursing home (NH) residents. Methods: This retrospective cohort study used national Medicare claims linked to Minimum Data Set assessments. The study population was individuals aged > /=65 years who resided in a U.S. NH for > /=30 days, had a hospitalized AMI between May 2007 and March 2010, and returned to the NH. Exposure was new use of beta-blockers versus non-use post-AMI. Orthostasis, general hypotension, falls, dizziness, syncope, and breathlessness outcomes were measured over 90 days of follow-up. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for outcomes were estimated using multinomial logistic regression models after 1:1 propensity score-matching of beta-blocker users to non-users. Results: Among the 10,992 NH propensity score-matched residents with an AMI, the mean age was 84 years and 70.9% were female. beta-blocker users were more likely than non-users to be hospitalized for hypotension (OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.03-1.39) or experience breathlessness (OR=1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.20) after AMI. With the exception of falls, other outcome estimates, though imprecise, were compatible with a potential elevated risk of orthostasis (OR=1.14, 95%CI 0.96-1.35), syncope, (OR=1.24, 95% CI 0.55-2.77), and dizziness (OR=1.28, 95% CI 0.82-1.99) among beta-blocker users. Conclusions: Considered alongside prior evidence that beta-blockers may worsen functional outcomes in NH residents with poor baseline functional and cognitive status, our results suggest that providers should exercise caution when prescribing for these vulnerable groups, balancing the mortality benefit against the potential for causing AEs.Source
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2018 Aug 20. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gly191. [Epub ahead of print] Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1093/gerona/gly191Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/46764PubMed ID
30137259Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/gerona/gly191