Heart HealthHigher Heart Rate After Heart Attack Signals Greater Risk Even in Modern Care
A major new analysis from the ABYSS trial tracked over 3,600 patients who had experienced a heart attack with preserved heart function. Researchers found that those with higher resting heart rates—68 bpm or above—had a 55% higher risk of death, another heart attack, or stroke compared to those under 60 bpm. Importantly, patients who stopped taking beta-blockers saw their heart rate rise by roughly 10–13 beats per minute, and this was consistently linked with worse outcomes regardless of their starting heart rate. The findings reinforce that heart rate remains a meaningful risk marker after heart attack even in today's era of advanced reperfusion techniques, and that beta-blocker therapy should generally be continued in stable post-MI patients with preserved ejection fraction.
