Beta-Blockers - Beta-Blockers for Heart Failure

(LifeWire) - Each year heart failure strikes 5 million or so of us in the United States and plays a part in the death of  roughly 300,000.

As its name suggests, this is a serious condition: Those affected may be tired all the time. They may struggle to breathe because their heart is pumping inefficiently.

Causes of Heart Failure 

Heart failure can be caused by a heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes and other heart-related conditions (among other possibilities).

So far there is no cure. So treatments are aimed at the symptoms.

Role of Beta Blockers 

Beta blockers are high on the treatment list because they can lengthen life and improve its quality.

Symptoms include retaining fluid, coughing and lung congestion. Beta blockers -- including metoprolol, carvedilol, atenolol and bisoprolol -- help convince the heart not to beat faster to make up for the fact that it is working inefficiently. They block certain "receptors" in heart cells that normally receive chemical messages from the body telling the heart to beat faster.

Once the heart rate is lowered, blood pressure is lowered, too. This helps reduce the heart's workload. (So beta blockers are also prescribed for hypertension.)

Beta blockers also lower blood pressure by reducing the body's level of a hormone called angiotensin-II, which normally prompts arteries to narrow and causes fluid to be retained.

Beta Blocker Side Effects 

Beta blockers have some side effects, which can sometimes be controlled by tweaking dosage. The slowed heart rate resulting from the drug causes less oxygen to be circulated around the body by the blood. Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, and cold hands and feet can result. Sleep disturbances are another possible side effect.

The tiredness beta blockers can cause may make it hard for patients to do things such as hard physical work or operate heavy machinery. The drugs' narrowing effect on airways can trigger or worsen asthma. If you already have peripheral artery disease or get pain in your calves while walking, you may find that beta blockers make these worse. And patients should avoid nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), because they can lower beta-blockers' effectiveness -- likewise cold and flu medicines.

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