Fonarow, G.C., Abraham, W.T., Albert, N.M., Stough, W.G., Gheorghiade, M., Greenberg, B.H., O’Connor, C.M., Sun, J.L., Yancy, C.W. and Young, J.B. (2008) Influence of beta-blocker continuation or withdrawal on outcomes in patients hospitalized with heart failure: Findings from the OPTIMIZE-HF program. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 52, 190-199. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2008.03.048

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Discharge heart rate and future events among Japanese patients with acute heart failure receiving beta-blocker therapy

  AUTHORS: Kazuki Oshima, Shun Kohsaka, Kimi Koide, Yuji Nagatomo, Toshiyuki Nagai, Yutaka Endo, Tsutomu Yoshikawa, Keiichi Fukuda

  KEYWORDS: Heart Failure; Beta-Blocker; Heart Rate; Pharmaceutical Preparations

  JOURNAL NAME: World Journal of Cardiovascular Diseases, Vol.3 No.1A, March 29, 2013

  ABSTRACT: Background: Randomized trials have demonstrated the efficacy of beta-blockers (BBs) in heart failure (HF) patients. We sought to assess the impact of BBs on long-term outcome; in particular, we assessed the association between outcome and BB dose and discharge heart rate. Methods and Results: Prescriptions for dispensed medication and outcomes were identified from a prospective, single-institution HF registry. Long-term prognosis was compared between users and non-users of BBs. BB users were further divided into 2 groups based on dose (full and non-full dose) and discharge heart rate (70 bpm was significantly associated with impaired long-term outcome (HR = 1.872, P = 0.04). Conclusions: Optimizing heart rate, rather than maximizing BB dose, appears to be an appropriate treatment strategy for the beta-sensitive Japanese population.