Beta Blockers for Anxiety

dddougal January 13, 2016 anxiety, drugs

Table of Contents

What are Beta Blockers?

Beta blockers are a group of drugs that can be administered to treat certain things. They are a group of drugs which prevent the stimulation of the adrenergic receptors responsible for increased cardiac action.

They were initially used to control blood pressure and cardiac activity in heart attack patients.

Are Beta Blockers Available for Anxiety?

Well, beta blockers can be used to prevent the physical symptoms of anxiety. They can be used to control tremors and rushing heart beats. And for this, they do work. Beta blockers have the advantage that they are mostly harmless for most people and they do sooth the physical effects of anxiety and panic attacks.

Propranolol is the most widely prescribed beta blocker for anxiety but there are others such as Atenolol. There are very few side effects with Propranolol but Atenolol has been shown to have side effects such as shivering and coldness.

You should check the labels before taking any drugs and watch for the side effects. If you have any, stop taking the medication immediately.

You should also tell your doctor if you suffer from any of these before you start taking beta blockers:

asthma or any type of lung disease
heart disease
kidney disease
diabetes – particularly if you have frequent episodes of low blood sugar
allergic reaction to any medication

Beta blockers can work to treat the physical symptoms of anxiety but the preferred option is usually anti-depressants. This is simply because using them as a treatment for anxiety is a reasonably new thing and enough research hasn’t been done to prove the effectiveness.

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