Beta blockers

Beta-blockers (also known as beta-adrenoceptor blocking agents) are commonly used to treat:

• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• angina (chest pain caused by restricted blood flow to the heart)
• heart failure (where the heart does not pump blood around the body effectively)
• atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat)
• heart attack

See Uses of beta-blockers for more information.

Less commonly, beta-blockers are used to:

• prevent migraine
• treat overactive thyroid
• treat anxiety conditions
• treat tremor
• treat glaucoma

There are several types of beta-blocker and each has its own characteristics. The type prescribed for you will depend on your condition. They are all equally effective.

How they work

Beta-blockers work by blocking the release of noradrenaline in certain parts of the body.

Noradrenaline is a chemical released by nerves when they are stimulated. The noradrenaline passes messages to other parts of the body, such as the muscles, blood vessels and heart.

This means that beta-blockers can, for example, decrease the activity of your heart (see Uses of beta-blockers for more information).

Names

Examples of beta-blockers are:

• acebutolol (Sectral)
• atenolol (Tenormin)
• bisoprolol (Cardicor, Emcor)
• carvedilol (Eucardic)
• celiprolol (Celectol)
• labetalol (Trandate)
• metoprolol (Betaloc, Lopresor)
• nadolol (Corgard)
• nebivolol (Nebilet)
• pindolol (Visken)
• propranolol (Inderal)
• sotalol (Beta-Cardone, Sotacor)
• timolol (Betim)