Beta blockers are prescribed for a variety of cardiovascular conditions, yet studies have shown that they might be underutilized. Conditions treated with beta blockers include:

• High pressure blood (hypertension). The exact mechanism of how beta blockers lower blood pressure is unknown. There are a variety of effective antihypertensive medications available and physicians consider a number of factors when recommending a medication. In general, beta blockers are not considered first-line therapy for high blood pressure, but may be added to an antihypertensive regimen, either as a stand-alone drug or in combination with other blood pressure lowering drugs. Some studies have also examined beta blockers among different age or racial groups. In general, younger patients were shown to respond better to beta blockers than older patients.
  
  
• Angina (chest pain), pressure or discomfort caused by a lack of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. Beta blockers are considered a first-line treatment for chronic stable angina, especially if the angina is consistently induced by exercise. They reduce the heart’s demand for oxygen by slowing the heartbeat and decreasing the force of the contraction. Among these patients, research has found that beta blocker use can decrease the risk of repeat heart attacks and death, in addition to improving exercise capacity and decreasing the frequency of angina episodes. Beta blockers can even allow patients to postpone surgeries until they no longer respond to medication or their condition become unstable.
  
  
• Heart attack. Beta blockers are important tools to help treat acute heart attacks and prevent repeat heart attacks. Among heart attack patients, beta blockers have been shown to decrease the oxygen demands of the heart muscle, decrease the risk of dangerous heart rhythms and improve the heart function. Once treatment with a beta blocker has begun in a heart attack patient, therapy is usually indefinite. Beta blockers should not be administered to heart attack patients who also suffer from asthma, severe bradycardia (abnormally slow heart rhythm) and fluid retention of the lungs.
  
  
• Heart failure, a condition in which at least one chamber of the heart is not pumping well enough to meet the body’s demands. At one time, beta blockers were avoided in the treatment of heart failure patients whose left ventricles did not function optimally. However, numerous studies have since shown that beta blockers are an effective treatment for heart failure and may significantly improve the survival rates of heart failure patients. As a result, they are prescribed to virtually all heart failure patients. New studies have also found that heart failure patients that are treated with beta blockers before, during and after hospitalization have better outcomes. Also, combination therapy of beta blockers and statins has been effective in preventing a second heart attack in patients who developed heart failure following a heart attack.
  
  
• Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) or extra beats (palpitations). Research has also shown benefit with beta blockers in preventing postoperative atrial fibrillation.
  
  
• Prior to coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Beta blocker use prior to bypass surgery has been found to increase survival rates, as well as reduce the risk of complications in high-risk patients (e.g., need for mechanical ventilation or follow-up surgery, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke).
  
  
• Prior to and following a multitude of non-cardiac (heart) surgeries, particularly those involving a vascular procedure. Beta blockers, when used before and continued for at least one month after surgery, help prevent a heart attack following the operation. This includes peripheral vascular surgeries, but also any of the higher risk, general, non-cardiac surgeries. Beta blocker use before and after surgery has proved beneficial to those with known  coronary artery disease (CAD), and those in whom CAD is only suspected by the presence of vascular disease in other parts of the body (e.g., peripheral vascular disease).
  
  
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A condition characterized by an abnormal growth of muscle fibers on the heart muscle, often causing a thickened septum (the muscle wall separating the heart’s chambers).
  
  
• Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland). Beta blockers have been found to relieve some symptoms associated with this condition.
  
  
• Migraine headaches or headaches with sexual activity (HSA). Beta blockers may prevent migraines and/or HSAs in some patients.
  
  
• Anxiety or tremors. They are sometimes beneficial in treating panic attacks.
  
  
• Glaucoma. In addition to beta blockers used directly on the eye area (e.g., levobunolol, metipranolol), systemic beta blockers are also available (e.g., timolol).