How are beta-blockers administered?
Beta-blockers are available for administration in three main forms: oral, intravenous, and ophthalmic, and the route of administration often depends on the acuity of the illness (parenteral use in arrhythmias), disease type (topical use in glaucoma), and chronicity of the disease.
What are the risks of taking beta-blockers?
The most common side effects of beta-blockers are:
- Fatigue and dizziness. Beta-blockers slow down your heart rate. …
- Poor circulation. Your heart beats more slowly when you take beta-blockers. …
- Gastrointestinal symptoms. These include upset stomach, nausea, and diarrhea or constipation. …
- Sexual dysfunction. …
- Weight gain.
What medications should not be taken with beta-blockers?
While on beta-blockers, you should also avoid eating or drinking products that have caffeine or taking over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, antihistamines, and antacids that contain aluminum. You should also avoid drinking alcohol, because it can decrease the effects of beta-blockers.
Can you eat bananas with beta blockers?
Too much potassium can lead to erratic heart rhythm and kidney failure. If you are taking a beta-blocker, your health care provider may recommend that you limit your consumption of bananas and other high potassium foods including papaya, tomato, avocado and kale.
Do beta blockers shorten your life?
A large study published last month in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that beta blockers did not prolong the lives of patients – a revelation that must have left many cardiologists shaking their heads (JAMA, vol 308, p 1340).
What is the safest beta blocker?
Cardioselective. A number of beta blockers, including atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Toprol, Lopressor), were designed to block only beta-1 receptors in heart cells. Since they don’t affect beta-2 receptors in blood vessels and the lungs, cardioselective beta blockers are safer for people with lung disorders.
Should beta blockers be taken at night or in the morning?
You can take them in the morning, at meals, and at bedtime. When you take them with food, you may have fewer side effects because your body absorbs the drug slower.
How long can you stay on beta blockers?
Guidelines recommend beta blocker therapy for three years, but that may not be necessary. Beta blockers work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also called adrenaline. Taking beta blockers reduces your heart rate and blood pressure. This eases the workload on your heart and improves blood flow.
Why you shouldn’t take beta-blockers?
It’s dangerous to stop taking beta-blockers suddenly, even if you’re experiencing side effects. When you take beta-blockers, your body gets used to your heart’s slower speed. If you stop taking them suddenly, you could increase your risk of a serious heart problem, such as a heart attack.
Do beta-blockers weaken the heart?
Beta blockers, also called beta adrenergic blocking agents, block the release of the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline in certain parts of the body. This results in a slowing of the heart rate and reduces the force at which blood is pumped around your body.
What is the most commonly prescribed beta blocker?
As seen in figure 1, the most commonly prescribed beta-blocker medications are metoprolol succinate and metoprolol tartrate. While both drugs are used to treat heart-related issues, their applications are very different.