For decades, beta blockers have been one of the routine drugs many patients receive after a heart attack. They are widely used for cardiac conditions and have long been considered a standard part of recovery after myocardial infarction. But a major 2025 clinical trial suggests that many people who have an uncomplicated heart attack and still have good heart function may not benefit from taking them at all.
The findings come from the REBOOT Trial, a large international study led by senior investigator Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, President of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and General Director of Spain's Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC). Results were presented during a "Hot Line" session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
A 40-Year Standard Is Challenged
Beta blockers became standard after heart attacks at a time when modern cardiac care looked very different. Today, blocked coronary arteries are often reopened quickly, and patients also receive powerful therapies such as statins, antiplatelet drugs, and other evidence-based treatments. That shift has raised a major question: do beta blockers still add meaningful protection for patients whose hearts are pumping normally after an uncomplicated heart attack?
