Beta blocker

dennisn

I just have recently started taking a Beta blocker for my blood pressure. Normally, when
I go riding I'll do some form of interval workout once or twice a week and get my heartrate
up to maybe 150+ or so for short periods of time, then soft pedal a bit, do another hard
one and so on. Now that I am taking this Beta blocker I find that no matter how hard I try
my heartrate rarely even approches 125. I told the MD about this and she says, yes,
that is normal. I said I felt like I was working just as hard at 125 as I had been at 150+
(gasping and really pushing it) but didn't know if I was, in actuallity, getting the same quality of workout since my heartrate was down because of the little white pill. She said
I was, but thinking about it now I'm not sure she and I were talking about the same thing.
Will my overall fitness continue to stay at the level it is at now, and perhaps even get better or, because I can't really get the old ticker to perform like it used to, will my fitness
level go down no matter how hard I try? Anyone? I'm 60 by the way.

Dennis Noward

brucey72

I am no expert but I myself took atenolol (a type of beta blocker) for 17 years following a kidney transplant. I started cycling again last year and began using my friends heart rate monitor to assist interval training. I could not get my heart rate above 130 and it also seemed to take an age to get it up to this rate. After doing some research on the I discovered that beta blockers can adversely affect performance when exercising and approached my GP with this info. He agreed to change my BP tablet to what's called an "Alpha Blocker" which I had read did not affect exercise and it has been like a new lease of life for me. The change of BP tablet was 6 months ago my max HR is now 192. Whether I was actually getting the same workout for the effort I don't really know I'm afraid but what I can say is that hills or intervals I found hard to sustain when on beta blockers are now much easier.

I obviously do not know the condition causing your high BP and it could be that it may only be tratable with beta blockers but it may be worth asking your GP again because in my eperience beta blockers do seriously adversely affect cycling performance and there is plenty of evidence on the internet to support this.

dennisn

brucey72 wrote:

I am no expert but I myself took atenolol (a type of beta blocker) for 17 years following a kidney transplant. I started cycling again last year and began using my friends heart rate monitor to assist interval training. I could not get my heart rate above 130 and it also seemed to take an age to get it up to this rate. After doing some research on the I discovered that beta blockers can adversely affect performance when exercising and approached my GP with this info. He agreed to change my BP tablet to what's called an "Alpha Blocker" which I had read did not affect exercise and it has been like a new lease of life for me. The change of BP tablet was 6 months ago my max HR is now 192. Whether I was actually getting the same workout for the effort I don't really know I'm afraid but what I can say is that hills or intervals I found hard to sustain when on beta blockers are now much easier.

I obviously do not know the condition causing your high BP and it could be that it may only be tratable with beta blockers but it may be worth asking your GP again because in my eperience beta blockers do seriously adversely affect cycling performance and there is plenty of evidence on the internet to support this.

Thanks a lot for your input. I'm going to get back in touch with my doctor and we shall
see what happens. Don't really know what is causing my high pressure. Probably a
combination of slightly overweight, not the greatest of diets, to much salt / caffeine.
You know, the usual suspects. Anyway, wish me luck.

Dennis Noward

beatsystem

Hi
i have had the same problem but it is easily solved,you need to be asked to be put on ACE inhibitors.Doctors dont normally prescibe Beta blockers any more because of the side effects.They tend to make people lack in energy and go,they are cheap tho'. Ace inhibitors have fewer side effects and are great if your into sport etc.Good luck by the time you lost a bit of weight i suspect you BP will have gone down anyway,the only thing is you cannot stop taking them once you have started but no need to fret.
Derek

dennisn

beatsystem wrote:

Hi
i have had the same problem but it is easily solved,you need to be asked to be put on ACE inhibitors.Doctors dont normally prescibe Beta blockers any more because of the side effects.They tend to make people lack in energy and go,they are cheap tho'. Ace inhibitors have fewer side effects and are great if your into sport etc.Good luck by the time you lost a bit of weight i suspect you BP will have gone down anyway,the only thing is you cannot stop taking them once you have started but no need to fret.
Derek

Thanks a lot. I'm really going to lok itno this a bit more.

Dennis Noward

allaction

You tend to find that these medications have side effects like you describe. They were most likely invented for people who were at risk of a heart attack and I'd imagine they generally didn't excersise too much. The side effects you have listed wouldn't effect them too much. I am coming off a medication at the moment as I had less energy than before I went on the bloody things!

brucey72

beatsystem wrote:

i have had the same problem but it is easily solved,you need to be asked to be put on ACE inhibitors.Doctors dont normally prescibe Beta blockers any more because of the side effects.They tend to make people lack in energy and go,they are cheap tho'. Ace inhibitors have fewer side effects and are great if your into sport etc.Good luck by the time you lost a bit of weight i suspect you BP will have gone down anyway,the only thing is you cannot stop taking them once you have started but no need to fret.
Derek

I have just checked my medication and beatsystem is right - they are called ACE Inhibitors. I'm sorry for any confusion

Best of luck anyway

windchill

It would definitely be worth talking to your doctor about this. I don't know if the advice is the same in the US as here in Britain, but in the last year I've done an audit on my own patients to try to get most of them OFF beta blockers (only the patients on them for hypertension, not angina or post-MI etc). This is in response to national guidelines here. A few years ago beta blockers and diuretics were the first line drugs but the beta blockers have now gone down to about 5th line. This is because studies were not showing the reduction in morbidity/mortality that would be expected for the same reduction in BP compared to the likes of ACE inhibitors. Possible reasons are that
1. Beta blockers possiblity increase the chance of developing diabetes and
2. They may reduce the pressure in your arm (where we measure it) without having the same reduction centrally (ie around the heart etc)

I must stress these are general guidelines and there remain a few people who are still better off on beta blockers- like I said earlier, discuss it with your own doctor.

dennisn

windchill wrote:

It would definitely be worth talking to your doctor about this. I don't know if the advice is the same in the US as here in Britain, but in the last year I've done an audit on my own patients to try to get most of them OFF beta blockers (only the patients on them for hypertension, not angina or post-MI etc). This is in response to national guidelines here. A few years ago beta blockers and diuretics were the first line drugs but the beta blockers have now gone down to about 5th line. This is because studies were not showing the reduction in morbidity/mortality that would be expected for the same reduction in BP compared to the likes of ACE inhibitors. Possible reasons are that
1. Beta blockers possiblity increase the chance of developing diabetes and
2. They may reduce the pressure in your arm (where we measure it) without having the same reduction centrally (ie around the heart etc)

I must stress these are general guidelines and there remain a few people who are still better off on beta blockers- like I said earlier, discuss it with your own doctor.

Many thanks. I am planning another talk with my doctor to see about other alternatives.

Dennis Noward