What's The Best and Newest Beta Blocker...

[LorrieLee]

Right noiw I'm taking Metroprolol ER 25mg once a day. I take it to slow my heart rate....which it does...but, has other unwanted side effects like breathing problems, depression, anxiety to name a few.

Does anybody have a better Beta Blocker to suggest for just lowering the heart rate and with out so many of the other side effects ....especially the breathing and anxiety problems. I dont need it for BP....which is ok by itself. Right now Im in Beta BLocker hell. I see my doctor in a week. Again this is for heart rate only....not for BP. Im having a lot of breathing difficulties on the metoprolol.

[Smiley2000]

Hi there,

I am sure by now you have had your Thyroid checked out as Hyper-thyroid can be the primary cause of palpitations and fast HR.

Do you know why your Cardio prescribed you a beta blocker?  what would your resting HR be without BB's?  Normally most patients would take BB's to slow down heart rate and if they are hypertensive it also helps for that.

I know that there are a lot of different beta blockers on the market.  CONCOR is Bisoprolol and that is what I would suggest and thus agree with what ED34 suggested.

You have to find the meds that works best for you and it sometimes takes a few weeks/months to really know if something is working for you, or not.  I started on 2,5mg Concor but was already hypotensive and it just made it worse.  At the end I went with Sotalol and Florinef that picked up my BP.

[jrbon]

Ed.,
Of course you are rigth. I mean "not the same side effects".

Jesus

[ed34]

Of course there are possible side effects, as there is with any medication. One in every 100 report visual problems for example with this medication. Other side effects listed can be
Fainting.
Feeling weak.
Fatigue.
Low blood pressure (hypotension).
Awareness of your heartbeat (palpitations).
Extra heartbeats (supraventricular extrasystoles).
Shortness of breath.
Sensation of spinning (vertigo).
Disturbances of the gut, such as nausea, constipation, diarrhoea.
Rash.
Allergic reaction involving swelling of the face, tongue or throat (angioedema).
Muscle cramps.
Raised levels of white blood cells called eosinophils (eosinophilia).
Elevated levels of creatinine in the blood.
High blood uric acid level (hyperuricaemia).

Quite a list wouldn't you say?

[jrbon]

If what you need is to low the HR, then Ivabradine is the solution.

Not a BB, not side effects.

Jesus

[claytex]

Dear ED.  I took toprolxl ( metoprolol) for about 12 years and it worked fine except its not real pulmonary friendly.  I developed excessive congestion in my throat.  My EP swithed me over to Bystolic.. 5 mgs daily and it is a more pulmonary or lung friendly beta blocker.  I found out that it is the beta blocker most pulmonary doctors recommend it their patients need beta blockers... However there is no generic for Bystolic and it is more expensive... I sure do like it better than the Metorpolol though... its worth the extra cost.. hope this helps Claytex

[ed34]

If your Doctor agrees to try Bisoprolol, I would warn that he starts with a low dose (1.25) and works up if necessary, rather than starting at 2.5mg or 5mg and working down. If it slows your heart too much, it can be a real struggle to get it back up again. After my 5mg episode, returning to 1.25 still didn't get my rate back up. Doctors were confused. So, I stopped taking them for 24 hours, then started again. This fixed it and I reported the cure to my cardiologist who was pleased to know.

[ed34]

I was tried on various beta blockers to start with, but there was only one which didn't give any side effects. I believe it is probably because of the low dosage needed compared to others. I found Bisoprolol was the best one and it only took 1.25mg to have the desired effects. If I increased to just 5mg my heart rate became too slow, around 28bpm. At 1.25mg I could get my heart rate quite high, but it got there nice and gently. No sudden adrenaline surges caused it to suddenly jump high. It was strange to not feel those familiar butterflies when under stress.
Bisoprolol didn't affect my blood pressure, I had to take an Ace Inhibitor separately for that.