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This study reports the mortality over a 5-year-period determined a double-blind trial, which evaluated the effect of early intervention with metoprolol in suspected acute myocardial infarction. In all, there were 1,395 randomized patients, 698 and 697 of whom were allocated to metoprolol 200 mg daily and placebo treatments, respectively, for the first 3 months. Thereafter, the two groups were treated in a similar fashion implying beta-blockade to a majority. Within the first 3 months, mortality in the metoprolol group was 5.7% versus 8.9% of the placebo group (p = 0.02). This difference persisted after 2 years (metoprolol 13.2%; placebo 17.2%; p = 0.04). Over a 5-year-period, 24.2% of the patients who originally were allocated to metoprolol had died as compared to 25.7% of those originally allocated to placebo (p greater than 0.2). Among patients in whom treatment started early (less than or equal to 8 hours after onset of pain = the median delay time), enzyme activities in the metoprolol group was lower (p = 0.03) than in the placebo group. Mortality during the first 2 years among these patients treated early was lower in the metoprolol (11.8%) than in the placebo group (17.3%; p = 0.04). Corresponding figures after 5 years were 22.0% and 25.3%, respectively (p greater than 0.2). Among patients in whom treatment started later than 8 hours onset of pain, there was neither any difference in enzyme activity nor in mortality after 2 and 5 years. It can be concluded that early treatment with metoprolol in suspected acute myocardial infarction reduced mortality during the first 3 months compared with placebo. The difference persisted after 2 years. However, 5 years after randomization, no significant difference in mortality was observed between the two treatment groups.
Herlitz et al. (Tue,) studied this question.