Your doctor prescribes yet another drug for you, this time it’s Beta Blockers.
Do you take it?
Is it responsible to question your doctor before swallowing?
It’s tough to feel confident enough to question your doctor, but if you don’t ask questions, do you know what you are risking?
First, let’s take a look at the side effects you might expect from taking Beta Blockers:
Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with the use of beta blockers include:
- nausea
- diarrhoea
- bronchospasm
- dyspnea
- cold extremities
- exacerbation of Raynaud’s syndrome
- bradycardia
- hypotension
- heart failure
- heart block
- fatigue
- dizziness
- abnormal vision
- decreased concentration
- hallucinations
- insomnia, nightmares
- clinical depression
- sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction
- alteration of glucose and lipid metabolism.
Clinical guidelines in Great Britain, but not in the United States, call for avoiding diuretics and beta-blockers as first-line treatment of hypertension due to the risk of diabetes.
(article originally published on News-Medical.net)
WOAH! Hold the phone! Is it worth risking all that?
Your doctor will tell you that Beta Bockers will reduce your risk of death, but there is good reason why the clinical guidelines in Great Britain warn against using beta-blockers IF they can be avoided!
Reducing your risk of death might sound worth risking the nasty side effects listed above, but before you swallow those pills, you probably want to consider the following information:
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Beta blockers are busted – what happens next?
(Published November, 2012)
They have treated heart disease for 40 years, but it now seems that beta blockers don’t work. What went wrong?
IT IS very rare for new evidence to question or even negate the utility of a well-established class of drugs. But after four decades as a standard therapy for heart disease and high blood pressure, it looks like this fate will befall beta blockers. Two major studies published within about a week of each other suggest that the drugs do not work for these conditions. This is a big surprise, with big implications.
The first beta blocker, Inderal, was launched in 1964 by Imperial Chemical Industries for treatment of angina. This drug has been hailed as one of great medical advances of the 20th century. Its inventor, James Black, was awarded the Nobel prize in medicine in 1988.
The 20 or so beta blockers now on the market are very widely used – almost 200 million prescriptions were written for them in the US in 2010. They are standard issue for most people with heart disease or high blood pressure. This may now change.
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).
The researchers followed almost 45,000 heart patients over three-and-a-half years and found that beta blockers did not reduce the risk of heart attacks, deaths from heart attacks, or stroke.
While this is not definitive, it’s pretty damning, especially when another study – published just days earlier – found pretty much the same thing (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol 60, p 1854).
The goal of this second study was to examine the effect of drug compliance on death rates in patients who had had heart attacks. About half of patients complied with their drug regimen. Unsurprisingly, these people were nearly 30 per cent less likely to die than those who did not comply.
This was to be expected, but there was one big surprise. While the result held for the standard classes of heart drugs – statins, anticoagulants and antihypertensives – it did not for beta blockers. Regardless of whether or not patients stuck to their regimen, their risk of dying was the same. Taken together with the JAMA study, it becomes very reasonable to question the benefit of beta blockers for treating these conditions.
To understand what is going on, consider how they work. Like many drugs, beta blockers target receptors embedded in the surface of cells. Receptors are “molecular switches” – when a specific molecule binds to them, they change shape and send a signal to the cell to perform a certain function. Beta blockers target beta receptors, which respond to the “fight or flight” hormones adrenalin and noradrenalin.
In humans, there are two principle types of beta-receptor – beta-1, primarily found in the heart, and beta-2, located at multiple sites, including the smooth-muscle cells of the bronchial tubes and in veins.
When adrenalin and noradrenalin bind to beta-1 receptors, they signal the heart to beat faster and pump harder. Binding to beta-2 receptors causes smooth muscle relaxation, especially in the airways, explaining why beta-2 activators are used as asthma drugs.
Beta blockers bind to both types of receptor, but do not activate the cellular response. This blocks adrenalin and noradrenalin from reaching their target and activating the response. By preventing the normal hormone-receptor interaction, the beta blockers slow the heart and cause it to pump less forcefully, lowering blood pressure.
The premise of beta-blocker therapy has been that giving the heart a rest will diminish the frequency of heart attacks. In the light of the two new studies, it is clearly time to question this.
Which raises the question: why has it taken so long to find out? It is worth noting at this point that this is not yet another case of a drug entering the market only to be withdrawn later because of lack of efficacy or even adverse reactions which could have been noticed with longer or larger trials. It is simply a new medical revelation. The authors of the JAMA paper provide a reasonable explanation of the conflict between their results and earlier studies.
The key word is “earlier”. Most clinical trials on beta blockers took place before reperfusion therapy became standard treatment following heart attacks. Reperfusion involves opening the blocked artery by surgery or pharmaceuticals, and has been shown to significantly reduce damage to the heart.
Damaged hearts are more prone to fatal irregular beats, and beta blockers are useful in controlling this. But with the advent of reperfusion therapy, people who survived heart attacks suffered less cardiac damage, so the frequency of fatal arrhythmias was lower. Put simply, the beta blocker effect was significant before the advent of this improved treatment, but the beneficial effect has since disappeared.
Additionally, newer and better drugs such as anticoagulants, statins and antihypertensives are now routinely used in heart disease. These more effective therapies swamp any smaller benefit that the beta blockers might provide, minimising any measurable effect.
What comes next is impossible to predict, but we may well be seeing a rare case of medical wisdom being overturned almost overnight. Beta blockers are not dangerous and have been in use for such a long time that it is unlikely that we will see an immediate cessation. But these results are hard to ignore, and cardiologists will be paying careful attention.
(Article originally published on NewScientist.com)
Here we are a year later and there has really been no noticeable decrease in the number of Beta Blockers being prescribed.
Back in 2007 there were significant reviews being published that questioned the use of Beta Blockers as a first line treatment. They were pretty much ignored and the completion of the 2 studies last year got no more respect than the reviews did 6 years ago. Profit drives drug prescriptions long after science has shown us the error of continuing to push dangerous drugs and drugs that have outlived their usefulness.
The New Scientist says Beta Blockers “are not dangerous and have been in use for such a long time that it is unlikely that we will see an immediate cessation”. Though it’s true that we are not likely to see this profiteering stop … just HOW safe are these drugs? (They also sight “better drugs” but we will be addressing that error in another blog post.)
You’ll find evidence online that suggests that Beta Blockers are good medicine for Heart Disease and Anxiety.
Let’s take another look and see just how truthful those statements are:
Are Beta Blockers Good Medicine For Heart Disease?
- Beta blockers can worsen heart failure in some situations. However, beta blockers are also useful for the treatment of heart failure. If you have heart failure, your healthcare provider may need to monitor you very closely while you take beta blockers. Let your healthcare provider know immediately if your heart failure symptoms seem to worsen.
- Beta blockers can worsen breathing problems such as asthma or COPD. If you have breathing problems, check with your healthcare provider before taking a beta blocker. Even “cardioselective” beta blockers (which are designed to have less of an effect on the airways) can cause problems, especially at higher doses. While people with well-controlled, mild asthma or COPD may be able to safety take a beta blocker, beta blockers should be avoided in people with severe breathing problems.
- If you have an upcoming surgery, make sure your surgeon and anesthesiologist know you are taking a beta blocker, as it may affect the choice of medications used during the surgery.
- Beta blockers can mask some of the symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), particularly the “racing heart” feeling. This can cause serious problems for people with diabetes, who need to be able to sense that they have low blood sugar (in order to correct it before it becomes life-threatening).
- Beta blockers can mask some of the symptoms of an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism). Stopping beta blockers suddenly could cause symptoms of a “thyroid storm” (a sudden and severe worsening of hyperthyroidism symptoms).
- For most beta blockers, the kidneys and liver help remove the medication from the body. If you have kidney or liver disease, your healthcare provider may need to monitor your response to the beta blocker more closely (and a lower dosage may be recommended).
- Beta blockers could potentially cause problems for people with poor blood circulation in the brain (such as people who have had a stroke or transient ischemic attack) or the legs (such as with peripheral artery disease). If you have had such problems in the past, check with your healthcare provider before taking a beta blocker.
- If you have an anaphylactic allergy (the type that affects the entire body and often interferes with breathing), beta blockers may make you more sensitive to the allergen and can make the usual treatments (such as epinephrine or an EpiPen®) less effective.
- Beta blockers might worsen myasthenia gravis. If you have this condition, you may need to be monitored more closely.
- Beta blockers are considered pregnancy Category B, C, or D medications (depending on the particular beta blocker). This means that they may not be safe for use during pregnancy, although the full risks are not currently known (see Beta Blockers and Pregnancy). Most beta blockers pass through breast milk.
(Article originally published on Senior-Health.emedtv.com)
Are Beta Blockers Good Medicine For Anxiety?
Beta blocker medications for anxiety
Beta blockers are a type of medication used to treat high blood pressure and heart problems. However, beta blockers are also prescribed off-label for anxiety. Beta blockers work by blocking the effects of norepinephrine, a stress hormone involved in the fight-or-flight response. This helps control the physical symptoms of anxiety such as rapid heart rate, a trembling voice, sweating, dizziness, and shaky hands.
Because beta blockers don’t affect the emotional symptoms of anxiety such as worry, they’re most helpful for phobias, particularly social phobia and performance anxiety. If you’re anticipating a specific anxiety-producing situation (such as giving a speech), taking a beta blocker in advance can help reduce your “nerves.”
Beta blockers include drugs such as propranolol (Inderal) and atenolol (Tenormin). Common side effects include:
- Light-headedness
- Sleepiness
- Nausea
- Unusually slow pulse
Anti-anxiety medication safety concerns and risk factors
Beyond the common side effects, medication for anxiety comes with additional risks. While the tranquilizing anti-anxiety drugs are relatively safe when taken only occasionally and in small doses, they can lead to severe problems when combined with other substances or taken over long periods of time. Furthermore, some people will have adverse reactions to any amount of anti-anxiety medication. They are not safe for everyone, even when used responsibly.
Drug interactions and overdose
Used alone, anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax or Valium rarely cause fatal overdose, even when taken in large doses. But when combined with other central nervous system depressants, the toxic effects of these anxiety medications increase.
Taking anti-anxiety medication with alcohol, prescription painkillers, or sleeping pills can be deadly.
Dangerous drug interactions can also occur when anti-anxiety drugs are taken with antihistamines, which are found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines. Antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft can also heighten their toxicity. Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist before combining medications.
(Original article published on HelpGuide.org)
You learned in the opening of this article what those common side effects are.
On top of top of all the devastating side effects, psychiatric medication taken in combination with beta blockers for anxiety could propose a significant risk to your well being!
Please be careful if you choose to drug yourself!
Let’s look at one last detail surrounding the use of beta blockers as a first line of treatment.
This is kind of important.
Beta Blockers Effects on Morbidity and Mortality
It is somewhat ironic that after 3 decades of using beta-blockers for hypertension, no study has shown that their monotherapeutic use has reduced morbidity or mortality in hypertensive patients even when compared with the use of placebo.
In some of the early trials like the British Medical Research Council study in the elderly, beta-blocker monotherapy was not only ineffective, but whenever a beta-blocker was added to diuretics, the benefits of the antihypertensive therapy distinctly diminished. Thus, patients who received the combination of beta-blockers and diuretics fared consistently worse than those on diuretics alone, but they did somewhat better than those receiving beta-blockers alone.
Even in the more recent trials like the ASCOT-BPLA (Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-Blood Pressure Lowering Arm) study of 19,257 patients with hypertension and at least 3 other coronary risk factors but no clinically overt coronary artery disease, atenolol-based treatment resulted in a 14% greater risk of coronary events and 23% greater risk of stroke when compared with an amlodipine-based regimen.
(Article originally published on MedScape.com)
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Increased risk of diabetes is no joke and mixing anxiety medications could be deadly.
Unhealthy blood sugar levels fuel heart disease.
Thinking that you must risk diabetes to avoid heart disease just does NOT make sense.
Anxiety is a crippling emotion to live with, but is it worth risking your life with drugs?
Taking a look at how beta blockers effect mortality over all, it really begins to look like benefit is questionable.
Is there really a simple alternative to Beta Blockers?
“Your Sacred Breathing Hand Book” offers insight into how to use your breathing to quickly shift your bio-chemistry effectively relieving your anxiety, addressing your shortness-of-breath and chest pain, and even preventing stroke!
Dr. Majid Ali says that this very basic form of breathing is so remedial that it can mean the difference between “a heart attack and no heart attack”, the difference between “a stroke and no stroke”. This is powerful medicine!
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