{"id":18717,"date":"2021-02-10T09:30:22","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T14:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=18717"},"modified":"2025-02-18T18:55:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T23:55:17","slug":"beta-blockers-heart-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/beta-blockers-heart-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the best beta blocker for heart failure?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beta blockers are well-tested and versatile medications. Healthcare providers have been prescribing them<\/span> since the 1970s<\/span>. <\/span>Beta blockers<\/span><\/a> have FDA approval to treat everything from glaucoma to migraines. But, they are also used for the treatment of cardiovascular conditions\u2014often as a first-line treatment for heart failure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do beta blockers work?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Beta blockers work by limiting the effects of epinephrine (also known as adrenaline)\u2014a stress hormone. This slows your heartbeat, decreases blood pressure, and opens blood vessels to improve blood flow. These medications can treat high blood pressure (hypertension), irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia), chest pains, heart<\/span> failure, migraines, and heart attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

For patients with heart failure, \u201cbeta blockers typically work [to reduce stress on the heart] by reducing a patient\u2019s heart rate,\u201d explains <\/span>Dawn Shill<\/span><\/a>, Pharm.D., a pharmacist for the Veteran\u2019s Affairs Healthcare System in Anchorage, Alaska.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beta blockers help to improve the balance of myocardial supply and demand. Dr. Shill says, \u201cBasically, sometimes heart failure is ischemic.\u201d Meaning, there is weakened muscular tissue in the heart that leads to a decreased amount of blood pumped from the heart. Beta blockers can help improve function in certain areas of the heart by reducing the amount of oxygen supply needed for the heart to function at an optimal level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research<\/span><\/a> also shows that beta blockers reduce the release of norepinephrine. Along with epinephrine, norepinephrine normally binds to receptors throughout the body and is involved with blood pressure and heart rate. Blocking the binding of these neurotransmitters to their receptors helps reduce heart rate and blood pressure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Which beta blockers can be used for heart failure?<\/span><\/h2>\n

B<\/span>eta blockers are often given to patients experiencing a heart attack with the goal being to prevent a second heart attack from happening.<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>American College of Cardiology<\/span><\/a> specifically recommends the following beta blockers, which are FDA approved for heart failure:<\/span><\/p>\n