Beta-blockers after acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients with diabetes mellitus: time to reassess.

Beta-blockers effectively reduce mortality and recurrent cardiovascular events in patients surviving myocardial infarction. However, these agents are underused in clinical practice, especially in older patients with diabetes mellitus. The current literature shows that beta-blockers are at least as effective in older diabetic patients as in other patients, without major safety concerns for their possible adverse effects. The use of these agents in clinical practice should therefore be encouraged, in order to reduce the burden of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in older diabetic patients post-infarction.