Notes to editor
This press release accompanies both a presentation and an ESC press conference at ESC Congress 2025.
It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Society of Cardiology.
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Funding: The BETAMI trial received grants from the Health South-East Research Program in Norway and the Research Council of Norway, with no industry support. The DANBLOCK trial was supported by grants from the Danish Heart Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Disclosures: Professor Atar reports speaker fees from Abbott, Amgen, Amarin, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BMS, Chiesi, GSK, MSD, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Philips, Roche-Diagnostics, Sanofi, Takeda and Vifor and grant support (to his institution) from BMS/Pfizer, Medtronic, Bayer and Roche-Diagnostics. Professor Prescott reports no disclosures.
About the study population: In a myocardial infarction (MI; heart attack), one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked and the heart muscle is not supplied with sufficient oxygen. In some patients, the MI can cause long-term damage such that the patient develops heart failure – a condition in which the pumping action of the heart is impaired.
After an MI, the pumping ability of the heart is assessed by measuring the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF): the amount of blood that is pumped out of the left ventricle during each heartbeat. An LVEF less than 40% indicates that the heart is pumping weakly and the ejection fraction is said to be ‘reduced’. An LVEF between 40% and 50% indicates slightly impaired pumping abilities and the ejection fraction is said to be ‘mildly reduced’. An LVEF more than 50% indicates that the heart is pumping normally, and the ejection fraction is said to be ‘preserved’, although there may still be problems with ventricle stiffening.
References and notes:
1‘BETAMI-DANBLOCK trial: Randomised discontinuation of beta-blockers after myocardial infarction’ presented during HOT LINE 3 on 30 August 2025 at 11:10 to 11:20 in Madrid (Main Auditorium) and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
2Byrne RA, Rossello X, Coughlan JJ, et al. 2023 ESC Guidelines for the management of acute coronary syndromes. Eur Heart J. 2023;44:3720–3826.
3‘REBOOT/BETAMI/DANBLOCK/CAPITAL-RCT: Beta-blockers after MI with mildly reduced EF (an IPD meta-analysis)’ presented during HOT LINE 3 on 30 August 2025 at 11:20 to 11:30 in Madrid (Main Auditorium).
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