Beta blocker therapy for Heart Failure

Beta blockers are a wonderful drug for patients with heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction. There is evidence spanning 30 to 40 years on how effective these medications are in reducing heart failure related death, heart failure related hospitalizations and improving ejection fraction. They work by blocking the sympathetic nervous system or reducing the activity of it and one of the key measures of this is the overall heart rate. So by bringing the heart rate down you can imagine the overall workload of the heart is equally reduced thus preserving that energy for longer. It can also affect the blood pressure bringing the blood pressure down slightly lower. There are lots of different types of beta blockers and some are more favourable than others for treatment of heart failure. It is possible that you may feel slightly worse after starting a beta blocker, although that's usually a really small minority of patients. Of course if that happens then it's worth having a discussion with your doctor. Beta blockers are there to help you live longer. So of course, if you can tolerate the side effects, then great, but if you can't, and it reduces your quality of life when you start taking one, as it does in some people, then of course, it's a further discussion to be had about stopping it.