For example, your heart rate may not increase normally in response to a low blood sugar level. You will need to check your blood sugar levels carefully when taking a beta blocker.
Talk to your doctor if you often have low blood sugar. He or she may want to change the dosage of your diabetes medicine. Beta blockers can be a problem for people who have asthma. They can cause asthma attacks. Work with your doctor to monitor your asthma and prevent attacks. People who have a chronic lung disease, such as bronchitis, emphysema, or both diseases together, known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD , can take beta blockers. However, you should call your doctor right away if you start having breathing problems.
Beta blockers may interact with other medicines. This includes over-the-counter medicines and prescriptions. The interaction can cause severe health problems. Tell your doctor about all medicines that you take. Check with your doctor before starting any new medicine. Most people who take beta blockers do well and have no side effects. Since beta blockers slow your heart, you may feel more tired. Exercise may seem harder than before. For example, you may get out of breath when you take a walk or climb stairs.
Use a device to measure your heartrate. Commonly used beta blockers include: atenolol also called Tenormin bisoprolol also called Cardicor or Emcor carvedilol labetalol also called Trandate metoprolol also called Betaloc or Lopresor propranolol also called Inderal or Angilol sotalol Uses for beta blockers Beta blockers may be used to treat: angina — chest pain caused by narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart heart failure — failure of the heart to pump enough blood around the body atrial fibrillation — irregular heartbeat heart attack — an emergency where the blood supply to the heart is suddenly blocked high blood pressure — when other medicines have been tried, or in addition to other medicines Less commonly, beta blockers are used to prevent migraine or treat: an overactive thyroid hyperthyroidism anxiety tremor glaucoma — as eyedrops There are several types of beta blocker, and each one has its own characteristics.
Who can take beta blockers Beta blockers are not suitable for everyone. To make sure they are safe for you, tell your doctor before starting a beta blocker if you have: had an allergic reaction to a beta blocker or any other medicine in the past low blood pressure or a slow heart rate serious blood circulation problems in your limbs such as Raynaud's phenomenon, which may make your fingers and toes tingle or turn pale or blue metabolic acidosis — when there's too much acid in your blood lung disease or asthma Tell your doctor if you're trying to get pregnant, are already pregnant or breastfeeding.
Cautions with other medicines There are some medicines that may interfere with the way that beta blockers, including beta blocker eyedrops, work. Tell your doctor if you're taking: other medicines for high blood pressure. The combination with beta blockers can sometimes lower your blood pressure too much. This may make you feel dizzy or faint other medicines for an irregular heartbeat such as amiodarone or flecainide other medicines that can lower your blood pressure. These include some antidepressants, nitrates for chest pain , baclofen a muscle relaxant , medicines for an enlarged prostate gland like tamsulosin, or Parkinson's disease medicines such as levodopa medicines for asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD medicines for diabetes, particularly insulin — beta blockers may make it more difficult to recognise the warning signs of low blood sugar medicines to treat nose or sinus congestion, or other cold remedies including those you can buy in the pharmacy medicines for allergies, such as ephedrine, noradrenaline or adrenaline non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines NSAIDs , such as ibuprofen.
These medicines may increase your blood pressure, so it's best to keep them to a minimum Side effects of beta blockers Most people taking beta blockers have either no or very mild side effects that become less troublesome with time. Side effects commonly reported by people taking beta blockers include: feeling tired, dizzy or lightheaded these can be signs of a slow heart rate cold fingers or toes beta blockers may affect the blood supply to your hands and feet difficulties sleeping or nightmares feeling sick It happens rarely, but some people have serious side effects when taking beta blockers.
Tell a doctor straight away if you have: shortness of breath with a cough that gets worse when you exercise like walking up stairs , swollen ankles or legs, chest pain, or an irregular heartbeat — these are signs of heart problems shortness of breath, wheezing and tightening of your chest — these can be signs of lung problems yellow skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow — these can be signs of liver problems These are not all the side effects of beta blockers.
What works for one person may not work at all for someone else. You may also need additional treatment options for your anxiety while taking beta-blockers, to get to the more psychological aspects. Both atenolol and propranolol come in pill form. The amount you should take depends on both the type of beta-blocker and your medical history.
Never take more than what your doctor prescribes. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor might suggest taking a beta-blocker regularly or just before stressful events. Usually, beta-blockers will be used in combination with other treatments such as therapy, lifestyle changes , and other medications.
If you take beta-blockers regularly, you may have serious withdrawal symptoms if you suddenly stop. For some people, the side effects of beta-blockers may actually cause anxiety symptoms. You should follow up with your doctor as soon as possible if you feel like taking beta-blockers is increasing your anxiety. Beta-blockers can also interact with other medications used to treat many heart conditions and antidepressants, so make sure you keep your doctor up to date about any medications, supplements, or vitamins you take.
Beta-blockers can be helpful in managing symptoms for some people with anxiety. They can advise on the best treatment plan for you that will help manage your specific symptoms.
Most people feel anxious at some point in their lives, and the feeling often goes away by itself. An anxiety disorder is different. Preparing for the holidays? The release of the first beta blocker in the early s revolutionized the treatment of chest pain caused by exertion or stress angina. Over the following four decades, these old dogs have learned many new tricks, from protecting the heart after a heart attack to controlling heart failure.
Today, millions of Americans take a beta blocker. This medication spotlight looks at how beta blockers work, who can benefit from them, and what to expect if you take one.
Tiny proteins called beta receptors sit on the outer surface of many cells. There are three main types. Beta-1 receptors are found almost exclusively in heart cells. Beta-2 receptors reside mostly in lung and blood vessel cells, though heart cells also have some.
Beta-3 receptors are located on fat cells. The job of beta receptors is to latch onto chemical messengers released by the nervous system. In response to these messengers, the heart beats faster, blood vessels constrict, the airways relax, and the kidneys increase production of a protein that boosts blood pressure. Beta blockers subvert these processes by settling onto beta receptors and preventing the chemical messengers from binding to their receptors. That slows the heart, improves the conduction of electrical signals in the heart, relaxes blood vessels, and lowers blood pressure.
Once a mainstay for treating high blood pressure, beta blockers have been elbowed aside by newer drugs, such as ACE inhibitors, and older ones, such as thiazide diuretics. You can tell a beta blocker by its generic name — they all end in "lol.
This accounts for their different actions and side effects. More than a dozen beta blockers have been approved for use in the United States see table. They fall into three main groups. The earliest beta blockers, like propranolol, affect both beta-1 and beta-2 receptors.
Nonselective beta blockers should be used with caution, if at all, in smokers or people with asthma or other lung conditions.
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