Beta-blockers Flashcards
What indication are they used for?
Ischaemic Heart disease (angina and ACS)
Chronic heart failure
Atrial Fibrillation (AF)
Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT)
Resistant hypertension
What is the mechanism of action?
Reduces force of cardiac contraction and speed of conduction.
What are the side effects?
Fatigue
Cold extremities
Headache
GI upset
Sleep disturbance (nightmares)
Impotence
What are the contraindicated?
They can cause life-threatening bronchospasms in people with asthma and should be avoided or the most cardioselective drug used
In heart failure they should be started at a low dose and increased slowly, impair cardiac function.
Severe hypotension.
Reduce dose in severe hepatic failure.
What drugs do they interact with?
Non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers (verapamil and diltiazem) unless under a specialist, as it can cause heart failure, bradycardia and asystole.
Antihypertensive- hypotension
What are some of the drug names?
bisoprolol, atenolol, propranolol, metoprolol
How are they monitored?
Symptoms and heart rate
Why is sotalol different to other beta-blockers for arrhythmias?
Sotalol is a class II and class III anti-arrhythmic drug
What are the cautions for these drugs?
Diabetes
AV block
History of obstructive airways disease
Symptoms of hypoglycaemia may be masked
