The researchers compared one-year recurrence of heart attacks and associated deaths in 24,217 patients who took sedatives with a matched number of patients who didn’t. Patients were an average 71 years old and 55 percent were male.
Subsequent heart attacks occurred in 10 percent of patients taking sedatives compared to 8 percent of those not taking them. One-year mortality was also higher in patients taking sedatives. In a separate analysis, researchers found deaths were higher in those taking sedatives mainly used for anxiety (anxiolytics) versus those used for sleeplessness (hypnotics). The researchers conclude that patients needing sedatives after heart attack might be at increased risk and may need more intensive secondary prevention to prevent future events.
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