Exercising When Using Beta Blockers
07-08-23, 01:46 PM
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Exercising When Using Beta Blockers
Exercising when using beta blockers...
Right up front I will be blunt and tell you it sucks.
I have to take a beta blocker and a low dose aspirin every day. I have been doing this for a few years since I had an emergency stint put into my main heart artery. I never thought I would have a blocked artery since I was healthy, ate well, and exercised regularly. Wrong. Doctors said my exercise saved me since I had developed more capillary blood vessels from exercising. I can thank hereditary genes for my blocked artery. Oh, it was 95 percent blocked too.
Now, back to exercising while taking beta blockers...these beta blockers are designed to keep your heart rate slower and regulated. They are also used for people who have high blood pressure too (I don't). So, what I experience is that I have to warm up well when biking, hiking or walking, etc. or the beta blockers will stop you. If your body exceeds your slower heart rate it goes into what is called exercise exertion, where your body cannot get enough oxygen so it forces you to stop. I have discovered I need to just stop off and on the first few miles to let my body regulate itself. Then, after that I can ride, hike or walk as long and as far as I want. Hope this might help anyone else who is taking beta blockers and exercise.
GQR
Right up front I will be blunt and tell you it sucks.
I have to take a beta blocker and a low dose aspirin every day. I have been doing this for a few years since I had an emergency stint put into my main heart artery. I never thought I would have a blocked artery since I was healthy, ate well, and exercised regularly. Wrong. Doctors said my exercise saved me since I had developed more capillary blood vessels from exercising. I can thank hereditary genes for my blocked artery. Oh, it was 95 percent blocked too.
Now, back to exercising while taking beta blockers...these beta blockers are designed to keep your heart rate slower and regulated. They are also used for people who have high blood pressure too (I don't). So, what I experience is that I have to warm up well when biking, hiking or walking, etc. or the beta blockers will stop you. If your body exceeds your slower heart rate it goes into what is called exercise exertion, where your body cannot get enough oxygen so it forces you to stop. I have discovered I need to just stop off and on the first few miles to let my body regulate itself. Then, after that I can ride, hike or walk as long and as far as I want. Hope this might help anyone else who is taking beta blockers and exercise.
GQR
07-08-23, 05:02 PM
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Find a sports knowledgeable cardiologist. There are better medications for active people. But don't stop the beta blocker until then.
07-10-23, 02:40 AM
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I too am on Beta blockers and low dose aspirin. I wake up with a pulse of 50. Six years ago I went in for knee surgery, and the following day had quadruple bypass surgery, which saved my life. Being 76, I usually limit my rides to 20 miles. Sometimes my pressure drops down to 100/60. The cardiologist will not let me off of the medication. He said that I have a long history of high blood pressure and could get a stroke.
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07-10-23, 08:26 AM
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Im on beta blockers, Ive noticed that it takes me about 5 miles to warm up. I think my heart rate has a governor on it as well. All it means for me is taking more shady breaks. I was taken off of aspirin during my last checkup.
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07-10-23, 02:40 PM
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They tried to take me off the beta blocker and they put me on an ace inhibitor which totally did not work for me. So, back onto the beta blocker I went.
07-10-23, 02:44 PM
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I wish I could get off the aspirin but my doctor says no. He said every case is different but in my case I have to continue with it. Glad you got off it. Did they replace it with something different or just took you off it period?
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07-10-23, 04:44 PM
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Some seniors should take baby aspirins and some seniors should NOT take baby aspirins. Which? well that's what big buck doctors are for.
07-10-23, 05:29 PM
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We're each an experiment of one
FWIW, I'm also on a low dose beta blocker after an MI and a stent. My cardiologists are keeping me on it to prevent atrial fibrillation (AF), and so far, it mostly seems to be working. I'm not sure if the occasional, semi-annual pulse spike is real or an artefact, and the doctors aren't sure either. Since it's so irregular, it's so unlikely to be caught it's hardly worth a 24-96 hour Holter monitor.
I'm five years older than I used to be, and I'm seeing a slight decline in fitness. Is it age, or is it beta blocker? Who knows. I've been able to get pretty close to my pre-MI levels with careful and extensive training. Most importantly, I'm still having fun riding a bike. I'm down from #3 to #5 on my best Strava segment -- dang it, some young whippersnappers came along and knocked me down a few pegs.
I'd care more, but it's cooling off and so it's time to go for a ride.
FWIW, I'm also on a low dose beta blocker after an MI and a stent. My cardiologists are keeping me on it to prevent atrial fibrillation (AF), and so far, it mostly seems to be working. I'm not sure if the occasional, semi-annual pulse spike is real or an artefact, and the doctors aren't sure either. Since it's so irregular, it's so unlikely to be caught it's hardly worth a 24-96 hour Holter monitor.
I'm five years older than I used to be, and I'm seeing a slight decline in fitness. Is it age, or is it beta blocker? Who knows. I've been able to get pretty close to my pre-MI levels with careful and extensive training. Most importantly, I'm still having fun riding a bike. I'm down from #3 to #5 on my best Strava segment -- dang it, some young whippersnappers came along and knocked me down a few pegs.
I'd care more, but it's cooling off and so it's time to go for a ride.
07-11-23, 06:10 AM
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@grcolts he didnt replace it. Im on plenty of other meds though. I've stopped all alcohol intake which is helping everything.
07-11-23, 06:36 AM
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Two stents and I'm on blockers and aspirin as well. My father had heart issues, and it seems I inherited them.
It stinks riding. I know the muscles in my legs will go faster and climb harder if I could get enough oxygen to them, but the "rev limiter" effect doesn't allow my heart to pump any faster.
I had a custom kit made - SORTIE Cycling. That stands for Slow, Old, Relaxed, Taking It Easy. I figure it beats the alternative.
It stinks riding. I know the muscles in my legs will go faster and climb harder if I could get enough oxygen to them, but the "rev limiter" effect doesn't allow my heart to pump any faster.
I had a custom kit made - SORTIE Cycling. That stands for Slow, Old, Relaxed, Taking It Easy. I figure it beats the alternative.
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07-11-23, 09:11 AM
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I did my 20 miles this morning on my mountain bike. At almost 77, I think that I was the oldest riding. Before my bypass surgery more than 6 years ago, I could not ride without pain. Do I like taking beta blockers? NO I was brought up to stay away from medicines so this situation is very unpleasant for me.
07-11-23, 10:37 PM
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Short version: ask your doctor about carvedilol (Coreg).
The rest of this is a rant.
About 25-30 years ago my doctors tried me with propranolol and metoprolol to help prevent migraines. Both were incapacitating to me, making me so sluggish and drowsy I couldn't function, let alone exercise. I was still working at the time and too often I had to take sick days because I couldn't even drive while I was on those two beta blockers. I didn't need them for blood pressure or any cardiac issues so I discontinued both.
A couple of years ago I started having migraines again, after several years without frequent attacks. I tried carvedilol, which I tolerated much better than propranolol and metoprolol. It reduced my resting heart rate from around 70 bpm to around 60 or the high 50s. I've never naturally had the low heart rate that some endurance athletes associate with fitness, and even when I bicycled 500 miles a month as well as lots of walking and easy pace jogging.
But the only benefit I got from carvedilol was a reduction in palpitations caused by my thyroid disorder. It was worthwhile for that benefit alone, but it wasn't reducing the frequency or severity of migraines so after a year my doc suggested I discontinue it. He didn't like my resting heart rate being below 60 bpm. So I discontinued carvedilol and any beta blocker and got a prescription for oral Imitrex to treat migraine.
My doctor said carvedilol doesn't efficiently cross the blood/brain barrier, which is why it didn't make me drowsy and sluggish, so I could continue exercising normally. But that was also the same reason why it didn't help with migraines.
The only downside to carvedilol for me was I had to mentally factor in a 10 bpm drop in my heart rate zones. So instead of a maximum HR of 173, it was now 165. I reset my bike computer's heart rate alarm from 160 to 150, an audible alert that after hitting that mark I had about 30 seconds before I'd burn out. Very handy for estimating my maximum effort for some short but steep hills, especially when I had to cross three lanes of traffic to make a turn at the crest of a hill. So if I was in the far right lane and/or shoulder, needed to sprint across two or three lanes to make the U-turn on a couple of favorite riding routes, I'd check over my shoulder, estimate the distance and time to reach the crest, and start sprinting. I usually restricted my harder workout routes to places and times with relatively little traffic so it was seldom a safety problem. But because I could no longer reach my former maximum heart rate, I had to quit some faster group rides because I'd get dropped too often and didn't want to make the other younger, fitter riders wait for me.
However, in your case, you might ask your doctor about a trial run of carvedilol to see if it accomplishes the essential medical goal without impeding your ability to exercise.
And at the risk of sounding like a Debbie Downer, I haven't found many doctors who give a single fig about anything that improves our quality of life. All they're concerned with is whether the medication produces the numbers they need to check off on our lab results, BP and EKG at annual checkups. In the past several years of seeing various doctors for my thyroid disorder, cancer, ortho problems caused by injuries and arthritis, I've had maybe one or two doctors who actually understood my emphasis on physical fitness. Most other doctors see a 65 year old man who's 5'11", weighs 160 lbs or less, has normal vital signs, doesn't smoke, drinks alcohol rarely, so as far as they're concerned I have no other relevant issues. My hematocrit is borderline anemic, my testosterone is borderline low even for my age, and my fitness plummeted to 25% of normal after I got sick in autumn 2021 (COVID-like symptoms, no specific diagnosis). My average speed dropped from around 18 mph on solo rides (lots of roller coaster terrain, no mountains), and faster on group rides, to around 14 mph now. I used to do 50 mile or so rides at least once a week, usually more often, averaging 500 miles a month. Now I'm lucky to finish a 20 mile ride and average maybe 100 miles a month at most. I do a lot more walking, some jogging, but even my running speed and endurance has plummeted since late 2021. I have had to quit faster group rides because I couldn't keep up. And this happened very suddenly over a two month period in late 2021, and I never fully recovered.
But my docs won't even address or discuss it and just shrug off any concerns I have about quality of life. They have a waiting room filled with guys my age or even younger who are morbidly obese, smokers and drinkers, with diabetes and heart disease, getting around with wheelchairs and walkers... so from their perspective, I have no other valid medical concerns. And they won't authorize referrals to specialists within my network.
In other words, if your concern is quality of life, and not just minimal health maintenance based on a graph or chart of hypothetical patients your age... you might need to find a better doctor outside of your insurance coverage and pay out of pocket for it. That's pretty much what I'm facing now.
I can see now why woo practitioners are so appealing and why there's such a demand for supplements, magic pills, alt-med treatments and therapies, etc. When you're health concerns are ignored by traditional medical practitioners, it's tempting to try almost anything else.
The rest of this is a rant.
About 25-30 years ago my doctors tried me with propranolol and metoprolol to help prevent migraines. Both were incapacitating to me, making me so sluggish and drowsy I couldn't function, let alone exercise. I was still working at the time and too often I had to take sick days because I couldn't even drive while I was on those two beta blockers. I didn't need them for blood pressure or any cardiac issues so I discontinued both.
A couple of years ago I started having migraines again, after several years without frequent attacks. I tried carvedilol, which I tolerated much better than propranolol and metoprolol. It reduced my resting heart rate from around 70 bpm to around 60 or the high 50s. I've never naturally had the low heart rate that some endurance athletes associate with fitness, and even when I bicycled 500 miles a month as well as lots of walking and easy pace jogging.
But the only benefit I got from carvedilol was a reduction in palpitations caused by my thyroid disorder. It was worthwhile for that benefit alone, but it wasn't reducing the frequency or severity of migraines so after a year my doc suggested I discontinue it. He didn't like my resting heart rate being below 60 bpm. So I discontinued carvedilol and any beta blocker and got a prescription for oral Imitrex to treat migraine.
My doctor said carvedilol doesn't efficiently cross the blood/brain barrier, which is why it didn't make me drowsy and sluggish, so I could continue exercising normally. But that was also the same reason why it didn't help with migraines.
The only downside to carvedilol for me was I had to mentally factor in a 10 bpm drop in my heart rate zones. So instead of a maximum HR of 173, it was now 165. I reset my bike computer's heart rate alarm from 160 to 150, an audible alert that after hitting that mark I had about 30 seconds before I'd burn out. Very handy for estimating my maximum effort for some short but steep hills, especially when I had to cross three lanes of traffic to make a turn at the crest of a hill. So if I was in the far right lane and/or shoulder, needed to sprint across two or three lanes to make the U-turn on a couple of favorite riding routes, I'd check over my shoulder, estimate the distance and time to reach the crest, and start sprinting. I usually restricted my harder workout routes to places and times with relatively little traffic so it was seldom a safety problem. But because I could no longer reach my former maximum heart rate, I had to quit some faster group rides because I'd get dropped too often and didn't want to make the other younger, fitter riders wait for me.
However, in your case, you might ask your doctor about a trial run of carvedilol to see if it accomplishes the essential medical goal without impeding your ability to exercise.
And at the risk of sounding like a Debbie Downer, I haven't found many doctors who give a single fig about anything that improves our quality of life. All they're concerned with is whether the medication produces the numbers they need to check off on our lab results, BP and EKG at annual checkups. In the past several years of seeing various doctors for my thyroid disorder, cancer, ortho problems caused by injuries and arthritis, I've had maybe one or two doctors who actually understood my emphasis on physical fitness. Most other doctors see a 65 year old man who's 5'11", weighs 160 lbs or less, has normal vital signs, doesn't smoke, drinks alcohol rarely, so as far as they're concerned I have no other relevant issues. My hematocrit is borderline anemic, my testosterone is borderline low even for my age, and my fitness plummeted to 25% of normal after I got sick in autumn 2021 (COVID-like symptoms, no specific diagnosis). My average speed dropped from around 18 mph on solo rides (lots of roller coaster terrain, no mountains), and faster on group rides, to around 14 mph now. I used to do 50 mile or so rides at least once a week, usually more often, averaging 500 miles a month. Now I'm lucky to finish a 20 mile ride and average maybe 100 miles a month at most. I do a lot more walking, some jogging, but even my running speed and endurance has plummeted since late 2021. I have had to quit faster group rides because I couldn't keep up. And this happened very suddenly over a two month period in late 2021, and I never fully recovered.
But my docs won't even address or discuss it and just shrug off any concerns I have about quality of life. They have a waiting room filled with guys my age or even younger who are morbidly obese, smokers and drinkers, with diabetes and heart disease, getting around with wheelchairs and walkers... so from their perspective, I have no other valid medical concerns. And they won't authorize referrals to specialists within my network.
In other words, if your concern is quality of life, and not just minimal health maintenance based on a graph or chart of hypothetical patients your age... you might need to find a better doctor outside of your insurance coverage and pay out of pocket for it. That's pretty much what I'm facing now.
I can see now why woo practitioners are so appealing and why there's such a demand for supplements, magic pills, alt-med treatments and therapies, etc. When you're health concerns are ignored by traditional medical practitioners, it's tempting to try almost anything else.
Last edited by canklecat; 07-11-23 at 10:43 PM.
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07-11-23, 10:53 PM
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Beta blockers knocked me down bad. Went to another doctor and he went 
and put my on another medication. Exercise improved drastically . I think the first doctor didn’t listen thought I was riding a bike to the mailbox and back. The new doctor understood what serious cycling was and being on a beta blocker in my case was crazy.
and put my on another medication. Exercise improved drastically . I think the first doctor didn’t listen thought I was riding a bike to the mailbox and back. The new doctor understood what serious cycling was and being on a beta blocker in my case was crazy.
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07-15-23, 07:53 AM
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Because of the Beta blockers my pressure sometimes goes down to 100/60. I had an appointment with my cardiologist for this Monday. I just found out that he died. I am wondering whether I should lower it on my own until I find another doctor.
07-18-23, 08:07 AM
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I found another doctor and will see him today. My late doctor saved my life six years ago and I would never have changed doctors. After having knee surgery, I complained of chest discomfort. This doctor had me rushed into surgery the next day. He visited me everyday in the hospital, even on Sunday.
07-31-23, 01:51 PM
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So says the Canklecat --
I have found this to be my experience as well. Obviously - a person's reactions to a drug are so individual that it makes any anecdotal comments about their side effects largely useless to anyone else.
More importantly - each drug user's approach and tolerance to exercise - specifically exercise intensity - are extremely variable.
I was prescribed Metoprolol after valve surgery. When I was well enough to begin exercising I noticed the side effects - and pushed through them until I was reaching pre-surgery exercise performance.
However, in my case - I developed a para valvular leak after fours years. Later on I took larger doses to stifle A-fib - while waiting to become sick enough for another surgery.
The point of my post is - that circumventing the side-effective aspects of your drugs could play a part in the overall longevity of your cardiovascular health. Be careful.
.
And at the risk of sounding like a Debbie Downer, I haven't found many doctors who give a single fig about anything that improves our quality of life. All they're concerned with is whether the medication produces the numbers they need to check off on our lab results, BP and EKG at annual checkups
More importantly - each drug user's approach and tolerance to exercise - specifically exercise intensity - are extremely variable.
I was prescribed Metoprolol after valve surgery. When I was well enough to begin exercising I noticed the side effects - and pushed through them until I was reaching pre-surgery exercise performance.
However, in my case - I developed a para valvular leak after fours years. Later on I took larger doses to stifle A-fib - while waiting to become sick enough for another surgery.
The point of my post is - that circumventing the side-effective aspects of your drugs could play a part in the overall longevity of your cardiovascular health. Be careful.
.
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