Asked by: Arianna Paffgen
medical health pharmaceutical drugs

What happens if you take too much of a beta blocker?

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An overdose of beta blockers can slow down your heart rate and make it difficult to breathe. It can also cause dizziness and trembling. The amount of beta blocker that can lead to an overdose varies from person to person. Call your doctor or go to A&E straight away if you take too much of your beta blocker.


Consequently, can beta blockers cause death?

It found that beta blockers reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death such as a heart attack by 31 percent, death from other cardiovascular causes by 29 percent and all-cause mortality by 33 percent.

Furthermore, what happens if you take too much blood pressure meds? For some medicines, an extra dose can cause problems. For example, too much blood pressure medicine could make you light-headed. Too much ADHD medicine might make a child jittery. Too much antibiotic might cause an upset stomach.

Additionally, what are the risks of taking beta blockers?

The most common side effects of beta-blockers are:

  • cold feet and hands.
  • fatigue.
  • nausea, weakness, and dizziness.
  • dry mouth, skin, and eyes.
  • slow heartbeat.
  • swelling of the hands and feet.
  • weight gain.

Do you have to take beta blockers for life?

Guidelines recommend beta blocker therapy for three years, but that may not be necessary. Beta blockers work by blocking the effects of the hormone epinephrine, also called adrenaline. In the past, many people have taken beta blockers for years — often indefinitely — after a heart attack.

Related Question Answers

Jemima Equiza

Professional

What is a normal heart rate on beta blockers?

If you are 70 years old, for instance, your adjusted target heart rate would be (220 - 70) 0.8 = 120 beats per minute. For people on a beta blocker, one suggestion is to adjust your target heart rate by the same amount that the beta blocker has reduced your resting heart rate (usually around 10 beats per minute).

Mahmoud Jujlev

Professional

When should you not take beta blockers?

Beta-blockers should not be prescribed if you have low blood pressure or a slow pulse, because the further reduction in heart rate can cause dizziness and lightheadedness. If you have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), your doctor may not prescribe a beta-blocker because it may worsen symptoms.

Nelita Blankschein

Professional

Why are beta blockers bad?

Overexposure to these hormones can be harmful. Too much adrenaline can lead to rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, excessive sweating, anxiety, and palpitations. Blocking the release of these hormones blockers decreases the oxygen demands and reduces stress on the heart.

Bubakary Toca

Explainer

Which beta blocker has least side effects?

Cardioselective beta-blockers, e.g. bisoprolol and metoprolol succinate, are less likely to cause fatigue and cold extremities than non-selective beta-blockers.

Angustia Lebon

Explainer

Are beta blockers bad for you long term?

Beta-blockers can have helpful, or harmful, effect on heart. Unfortunately, the researchers found, this growth also predisposes the heart to eventual failure. Traditionally, beta-blockers targeting the beta-adrenergic receptors have been utilized as a long-term therapy for heart failure.

Germina Menta

Explainer

How do I get off beta blockers?

Any change of dose should be made slowly as your doctor recommends. It is important not to stop beta blockers suddenly or run out of medication. Don't stop taking a beta blocker suddenly without first consulting a doctor. When you take a beta blocker regularly, the body becomes used to it.

Kaddy Eugercios

Pundit

Is there an alternative to beta blockers?

However, if you have problems with beta blockers, there are alternative drugs available. If you have angina or AF, for example, other drugs that slow the heart rate, such as diltiazem or verapamil, may be substituted.

Razika Whitmore

Pundit

Can beta blockers damage your heart?

When taken in very high doses, beta blockers can worsen heart failure, slow the heart rate too much, and produce wheezing and a worsening of lung disease. High doses may also cause lightheadedness from a drop in blood pressure, which puts people at risk for falls and injury.

Patric Henckens

Pundit

What is the safest beta blocker?

A number of beta blockers, including atenolol (Tenormin) and metoprolol (Toprol, Lopressor), were designed to block only beta-1 receptors in heart cells. Since they don't affect beta-2 receptors in blood vessels and the lungs, cardioselective beta blockers are safer for people with lung disorders.

Xumei El Makhloufi

Pundit

Is aspirin a beta blocker?

Aspirin blunts the vasodilation caused by both angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and beta-blockers in hypertensive patients and in patients with heart failure. Aspirin did not significantly affect the heart rate or systolic blood pressure response in either the placebo or carvedilol groups.

Tian Montoro

Pundit

What foods to avoid when taking beta blockers?

While on beta-blockers, you should also avoid eating or drinking products that have caffeine or taking over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, antihistamines, and antacids that contain aluminum. You should also avoid drinking alcohol, because it can decrease the effects of beta-blockers.

Yadhira Paredero

Teacher

What are the most common beta blockers?

Beta-blockers include:
  • Acebutolol (Sectral)
  • Atenolol (Tenormin)
  • Betaxolol (Kerlone)
  • Bisoprolol (Zebeta, Ziac)
  • Carteolol (Cartrol)
  • Carvedilol (Coreg)
  • Labetalol (Normodyne, Trandate)
  • Metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol-XL)

Florencio Beyerlin

Teacher

What is the most popular medication for high blood pressure?

Diuretics. Diuretics are some of the most commonly used drugs for treating high blood pressure. They help the kidneys get rid of excess water and sodium, or salt.

Eliseu Loachamin

Teacher

Why do beta blockers cause depression?

Also, because most patients in this study received propranolol, the authors were unable to confirm a long-held belief that highly lipophilic beta blockers (such as propranolol, metoprolol, and timolol) are more likely than hydrophilic beta blockers such as atenolol to produce depression.

Abdelhai Elers

Teacher

Are beta blockers addictive?

Beta blockers are capable of blocking neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline) from attaching to beta receptors on nerves. Beta blockers are non-addictive, non-narcotic sedatives that help reduce symptoms of anxiety.

Abderhim

Reviewer

Can you lose weight on beta blockers?

Beta-blockers are not the only medications that promote weight gain. And in a separate look at 30 patients with high blood pressure, they found that people on beta-blockers generally burned fewer calories and fat after a meal — measured by a device called a calorimeter.

Elly Graziani

Reviewer

What are the 4 worst blood pressure drugs?

Both Yancy and Clements point out that those medications include:
  • thiazide diuretics (chlorthalidone, hydrochlorothiazide)
  • ACE inhibitors (benazepril, zofenopril, lisinopril, and many others)
  • calcium channel blockers (amlodipine, diltiazem)
  • angiotensin II receptor blockers (losartan, valsartan)

Xeber Sagar

Reviewer

What is the first drug of choice for hypertension?

Thiazide-type diuretics and beta-adrenergic blockers as first-line drug treatments for hypertension.

Alverta Shailendra

Reviewer

What happens if you take blood pressure medicine and don't need it?

Medication to control high blood pressure only works if you take it. If you stop taking antihypertensive medication without discussing it with your doctor, you put yourself at risk for a stroke. The higher the blood pressure, the higher the risk for stroke and other health consequences.