How do beta blockers reduce the heart rate?

Answer 1

Beta blockers are medicines that affect the body's response to certain nerve impulses. This, in turn, decreases the force and rate of the heart's contractions, which lowers blood pressure and reduces the heart's demand for oxygen.

The main use of beta blockers is to treat high blood pressure. Some also are used to relieve the type of chest pain called angina or to prevent heart attacks in people who already have had one heart attack. These drugs may also be prescribed for other conditions, such as migraine, tremors, and irregular heartbeat. In eye drop form, they are used to treat certain kinds of glaucoma.

Beta blockers, also known as beta-adrenergic blockers, are available only with a physician's prescription. The come in capsule, tablet, liquid, and injectable forms. Some common beta blockers are atenolol (Tenormin), metoprolol (Lopressor), nadolol (Corgard), propranolol (Inderal), and timolol (Blocadren). Timolol and certain other beta blockers are also sold in eye drop form for treating glaucoma. Eye drops that contain beta blockers include betaxolol (Betoptic), cartelol (Ocupress), and timolol (Timoptic).-

Answer 2

Beta blockade is where the drug (inderal is just one of the family, there are many) competitively interferes with the binding of adrenaline to the receptors for it. When the beta blocker is taking up the slot, the adrenaline has nowhere to bind, so it doesn't induce the fight-or-flight response. Thus, things that would normally increase the heart rate - exercise, stress, etc. don't anymore. Also, the blood pressure response is blunted as well.