Quality and Safety
St. Luke's Boise / Meridian Medical Centers
Percent of Surgery Patients who were taking heart drugs called beta-blockers before coming to the hospital, who were kept on the beta-blockers before and after their surgery.
It is often standard procedure to stop patients' usual medications for awhile before and after their surgery. But if patients who have been taking beta blockers suddenly stop taking them, they can have heart problems such as a fast heart beat. For these patients, staying on beta blockers before and after surgery makes it less likely that they will have heart problems.
