Study says common drug may cause heart damage if taken at night

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A common drug given to patients before surgery may cause heart damage depending on the time it’s taken, a new study suggests. 

Midozolam is given to patients to ease their anxiety before an operation, but scientists at the University of Colorado found it may do more harm than good. 

Over 16,000 patients were given the drug before undergoing nighttime surgery. Study findings showed patients given the medication released higher levels of GABA, a chemical that inhibits the brain’s calming effect. Higher levels of GABA can suppress the cardioprotective gene, PER2. 

“We performed a large dataset analysis and demonstrated that administering is associated with an increased risk of myocardial injury in non-cardiac surgery when surgeries occurred at night and in healthier patients,” lead author Dr Tobias Eckle said in a news release. “This is significant because these findings could have tremendous implications for patient mortality.”          

The study was published in the journal Frontiers of Cardiovascular Medicine.