When Can I Exercise After Stopping a Beta Blocker?
Beta blockers are prescription medications that are used to help lower blood pressure. Besides treating hypertension, they are also sometimes used to treat migraine headaches and glaucoma. You should ask your doctor for an exercise stress test if you are considering exercise while taking or shortly after taking beta blockers.
Functions
Beta blockers, fully known as beta-adrenergic blocking agents, work by blocking a hormone called epinephrine -- also known as adrenaline. Beta blockers enable the heart to beat less forcibly, at a slower rate. They also expand blood vessels to increase blood flow. This in turn reduces blood pressure. Commonly prescribed beta blockers include Propranolol, or Inderal LA, Acebutolol, or Sectral, Bisoprolol, or Zebeta, Nebivolol, or Bystolic and Nadolol, or Corgard.
Heart Rate
According to Sheldon G. Sheps M.D., because beta blockers lower your heart rate, they can actually prevent the normal increase in heart rate that usually takes place when you exercise. This can prevent you from reaching your desired heart rate no matter how hard you exercise. Because there is no accurate way to foretell how beta blockers will affect your heart rate, the best thing to do is ask your doctor for an exercise stress test.
Exercise Stress Test
An exercise stress test will enable your doctor to assess how well your heart copes with exercise. As your body works harder to perform the test, it needs more oxygen, causing the heart to pump blood more forcefully. The exercise test shows if the arteries are supplying enough blood to the heart. This enables the doctor to decide what type and level of exercise is suitable for you. During the test you will walk at a steady pace on a treadmill while hooked up to a heart monitor. Your breathing rate and blood pressure will also be measured throughout the test.
Exercise After Beta Blockers
There is no recommended time frame for starting an exercise program after you have finished taking beta blockers. Talk to your doctor about an exercise regimen that is more suited to your current situation. If you adjusted your program while you were taking beta blockers, in order to take into account your slowed heart rate, you will need to readjust it so that you are not exercising too hard.