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Question:
Will you explain how a beta blocker helps during a heart crisis?
I read that a beta blocker is usually prescribed for an AFIB [atrial fibrillation] problem. I also read that an AFIB can either speed up the heart or slow it down in a crisis. Since the heart is a muscle, is it not weakened by slowing it down and squeezing less forcefully? If stopping use of the beta blocker, will the pulse jump up and stay higher than the original pulse was before and the heart muscle regain its original strength? From the point of view of surviving a crisis would a person be better served by taking a beta blocker or not taking any drug at all to control his pulse in advance?
submitted by Stan from Baton Rouge, Louisiana on 3/9/10
Answer:
by Texas Heart Institute cardiologist, Ali Massumi, MD
It is true that beta blockers have a negative inotropic effect but in a heart without previous damage, that is normal. Its use in the accepted doses does not precipitate heart failure. Actually, beta blocker use is a significant part of heart failure treatment. Beta blockers, by slowing down the heart rate, allow better function of the heart as a pump.
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Updated March 2010
