Percent of Heart Attack Patients Given Beta Blocker at Discharge

Why Is This Treatment Important?

Beta blockers are a type of medicine that is used to lower blood pressure, treat chest pain (angina) and heart failure, and to help prevent a heart attack. Beta blockers relieve the stress on your heart by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which your heart muscles contract to pump blood. They also help keep blood vessels from constricting in your heart, brain, and body. If you have a heart attack, you should get a prescription for a beta blocker before you leave the hospital.

What the Scores Mean

A higher percentage, or score, is good because it means more patients received the recommended treatment. However, a lower score does not necessarily indicate poor care. You should consider the overall quality of a facility in addition to individual category scores.

About the Data

The data on this site is reported to the Department of Health and Human Services and is updated on a quarterly basis. It represents patient care data from July 2010 through June 2011, which was released in May 2012. The explanation of the data is courtesy of the Department of Health and Human Services. For more information, please visit the Hospital Compare website.