Relationship between different doses of beta-blockers and prognosis in elderly patients with reduced ejection fraction

Abstract Background Beta-blockers (BBs) remain underused in elderly patients with reduced ejection fraction (REF). Our aim was to determine the prognostic impact of different doses of BB in this setting. Methods and results A single-center observational study was conducted. Inclusion criteria were age≥75 and EF≤0.35. Six months after diagnosis, patients were divided into 3 groups depending on BB dose: no BB (NBB), low dose ( p =0.037; HD vs. LD=1.03, 95% CI=[0.72–1.46], p =0.894; and LD vs. NBB=0.65, 95% CI=[0.48–0.90], p =0.009). However, BB therapy failed to show benefits in HF admissions ( p =NS, for each comparison). PS-matched analysis included 198 patients, with similar results to those mentioned above. Conclusions BB therapy was associated with a significant reduction in mortality among elderly patients with REF, regardless of dose. Nevertheless, it was not associated with a decrease in HF admissions. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal BB dose in these patients.