Does being on a "Beta Blocker" really reduce the risk of heart disease?

Question

I never really understood how being on a Beta Blocker is good for the heart, and how it would prevent heart disease. Does it do more than just "Slow down" your heart rate, thats all I thought it acually did.

Answer 1

Data to support the value of beta blockers as cardioprotective agents in stable and unstable angina are inferred and based in large part on the results of post-MI studies. Finally, in high-risk surgical patients, beta blockers seem to be cardioprotective when given pre-operatively .
A new use of beta blocker is during coronary angioplasty (PCI). In this setting, the drug is given intra-coronary at relatively high doses to avoid systemic adverse effects, hypotension, and bradycardia. In a recent prospective randomized trial, such an approach markedly decrease post-PCI myocardial infarction and improved short-term clinical outcome.
Beta blockers reduce the oxygen demand of myocardium . Thus they protect the ischemic heart whose myocardial oxygen supply is compromised

Answer 2

Beta blockers lower the blood pressure and the heart rate. Anything that reduces the load on a diseased heat and lowers blood pressure for somone with hypertension reduces the risk of sudden death. Reducing the risk of heart disease has to happen long before a patient is prescribed beta blockers.

Answer 3

A Beta Blocker reduces available adrenaline, thus lowering blood pressure, thus reducing the risks of hypertension including developing CHF, Stroke, embalism, etc. Some thought is beta blockers are a great preventative for heart disease, although ACE inhibitors are used more commonly for heart protection.

Beta Blockers are known to slow you down. Might feel tired, or tire easy during physical activity. Also gets rid of "shakes" experienced by older people during physical activity.

Answer 4

They have both negative chronotropic activity (slow the rate) and negative inotropic activity (lessen the force of contractility), and both actions decrease myocardial oxygen demand, so a lesser degree of blood flow through the coronary arteries supplying oxygen to the myocardium is tolerated. They also have antiarrhythmic activity, and rhythm disturbances are the major cause of death in heart disease.
There were papers published in Scandinavia especially, as well as other places in western Europe, back in the 1970's showing remarkable decreases in mortality in patients with ischemic heart disease and also in patients with congestive heart failure. At that time a US physician prescribing beta blockers to a heart failure patient was begging for a lawsuit. It took overwhelming evidence (and about fifteen years) for us in the states to overcome our fear of lawyers and come around on the use of beta blockers.

Answer 5

Good work doc....you know what is next?
Here comes the evidence... :)
"Adherence to medication with statins, and to a lesser extent, with beta-blockers, is linked to a reduced mortality during the 3-4 years following an infarct."

Answer 6

It depends on your genetic makeup. If you family has a history of heart disease, it would aid somewhat, but it doesn't slow the heart it also affects the blood pressure and cholesterol build-up.
Also there are different types of beta blocker.
If you are concerned I would consult a cardiologist.

Answer 7

Your heart's oxygenation is based on supply and demand.

If the supply is limited (by coronary artery disease) and cannot meet the heart's oxygen demands, the heart becomes ischemic. Prolonged ischemia leads to infarction = heart attack.

Slowing the heart decreases its oxygen demand, and reduces the chance of ischemia.