How Long Can You Stay on Beta-Blockers?

Patients who have had a heart attack are usually given beta-blockers because they decrease the chance of having another heart attack or dying of a heart attack. These patients usually take beta-blockers for one year though some may remain on the medication for life.

Beta-blockers, also called beta-adrenergic blocking agents, are used to treat high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), chest pain (angina), heart failure, tremors, pheochromocytoma, and hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. Less commonly, beta blockers are used to prevent migraines, or to treat overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), anxiety, tremor, and glaucoma (as eyedrops).

Beta blockers work by blocking the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline) from binding to beta receptors on nerves. This helps reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure.

Patients who have had a heart attack are usually given beta-blockers because they decrease the chance of having another heart attack or dying of a heart attack. These patients usually take beta-blockers for one year though some may remain on the medication for life. 

A patient’s cardiologist will determine if there is additional benefit from staying on beta-blockers or if a patient should be switched to a different class of medication.