June 30, 2016
About 5.7 million Americans have heart failure, half of whom will die
from the disease within five years, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).
Two processes help drive the disease: a
weakened heart muscle that is less able to pump, and the death of heart
cells that irreparably damage the heart. Beta-blockers,
commonly used to treat heart disease, work by blocking the
beta-adrenergic receptors in the heart, saving heart cells from cell
death. But beta-adrenergic receptors also help keep the heart pumping, a
function that this medication also blocks.