Long-Acting Beta Agonists Show No Link To Cardiac Events

Main Category: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 29 Oct 2006 - 16:00 PDT

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Patients with COPD who take inhaled long-acting beta agonists (LABAs) are not at an increased risk for developing cardiovascular events (CVEs) due to their medication, shows a new study out of the University of Washington. Researchers compared 6,954 patients with COPD who used LABAs with a matched control group of 34,700 patients with COPD. Patients were followed until the earliest CVE, death, or five years after the start of the study. Results showed that patients using LABAs had a similar risk of experiencing a CVE compared with patients who never used LABAs. Furthermore, when researchers adjusted for cumulative use of LABAs, they found that as patients used LABAs for a longer time, their risk for CVEs remained similar to patients who were never exposed to LABAs.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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CHEST 2006 abstract briefs

Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
American College of Chest Physicians