An inexpensive heart medication can treat COVID respiratory complications, study finds
One of the hardest things about testing positive for COVID-19 is that conventional Western medicine has offered very few treatment options to reduce the severity of the disease. Some doctors and hospitals are using monoclonal antibody treatments as an early intervention, which may help reduce hospitalizations, as reported by The Epoch Times. Other Western medical treatments for the virus—including the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin—are also being used, but remain controversial.
But now, an interesting new study from a team of scientists based in Spain is offering another potential treatment for the disease: the heart medication metoprolol. The study, published on Sept. 7 in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American College of Cardiology, suggests that a common heart medication may be an effective treatment for the severe lung complications that are a major cause of death in severe SARS-CoV-2 cases.
Cardiologists at the Spanish National Center for Cardiovascular Research ran the controlled study on 20 patients in the Jiménez Díaz University Hospital in Madrid.
Twelve patients were randomly selected to receive treatment with metoprolol, with eight patients being in the control group. The small study not only showed benefits for the patients treated with metoprolol, but also proposed a mechanism for why and how it may help mitigate severe SARS-CoV-2 infections.
What Is Metoprolol?
Metoprolol is a widely prescribed, inexpensive Federal Drug Administration-approved drug used in the treatment of various heart conditions. It’s prescribed mainly to treat high blood pressure, as well as illnesses such as acute myocarditis, which can cause irregular heart rhythms. It’s also used to lessen chest pain.
Metoprolol is a beta-blocker, which acts to keep adrenaline from increasing your heart rate. It acts on beta receptors in your heart and in your blood vessels, which in turn helps lower a fast heart rate and decrease the heart’s need for oxygen. Some musicians and other performers who don’t have diagnosed heart problems will use metoprolol to keep from getting on-stage jitters.
