Introduction
Beta-blockers are a group of drugs that are mainly used to treat arterial hypertension (high blood pressure) or cardiac arrhythmia. It takes advantage of the fact that receptors, which are located in the heart muscle, are blocked by a beta-blocker and thus adrenaline cannot be applied to them. Adrenaline is a substance that raises blood pressure and increases the heart rate.
In addition to the blood pressure-lowering and heart rate-lowering effect, beta-blockers also have a number of side effects that must be taken into account. These include fatigue and exhaustion, possible impotence or even shortness of breath (adrenaline leads to a bronchial dilatation via beta receptors in the lungs. A blockage of the bronchial tubes has the opposite effect = bronchial tubes contract = shortness of breath).
Is sport possible when taking beta-blockers?
The practice of sports and especially endurance sports help to lower the blood pressure in general. Endurance sportsmen and women who regularly train their condition have a larger heart muscle than non-athletes. The larger a heart muscle is, the slower it has to beat per minute to transport the required blood volume per minute through the body (relief of the heart muscle in athletes).
Physiologically, this mechanism is noticeable in that the heart rate drops. While non-athletes should have a heart rate of around 80 beats per minute, it can also happen that trained competitive athletes have a heart rate of around 50-60. The blood pressure of well-trained athletes should be around 120:80 mmHg.
If there is no disease of the kidneys, athletes who exercise regularly do not usually suffer from high blood pressure. As a rule, it is non-athletes and/or overweight people who are prone to this clinical picture. The situation is somewhat different for cardiac arrhythmia, as athletes can also suffer from irregularities in the transmission of stimuli in the heart muscle.
The reason for this is often the heart muscle that has become too large as a result of too intensive sport. If the heart muscle is too large, the corresponding conduction path increases along with the muscle, which can lead to corresponding rhythm disturbances. If a beta-blocker is administered to a patient with high blood pressure, the question often arises as to whether sports can be practiced under this medication. In principle, it can be said that it is possible to do sports under a beta-blocker therapy. However, a few things should be considered.
Possible symptoms of ingestion and physical activity
The beta-blocker taken reduces blood pressure and heart rate. While the heart rate rises slightly during sporting activity, it is possible that the blood pressure drops after a brief increase. The pulse rate lowered by a beta-blocker therefore does not rise as much as in patients without beta-blockers.
However, the blood pressure, which is also lowered by a beta blocker, can be lowered further by exercise after a short increase. Every patient who takes a beta blocker should pay close attention to newly occurring symptoms when doing sports. If dizziness, shortness of breath or pressure on the chest occurs, the activity should be stopped immediately.
In this case, it is possible that the necessary increase in heart rate, which would be necessary to provide sufficient blood for the body cells during sports activity, is not sufficient. The body then enters into an oxygen debt, which would manifest itself as shortness of breath, exhaustion or pressure on the chest. Dizziness could also be an indication that the required increase in heart rate, which is not sufficient under a beta-blocker, is not sufficient to maintain the metabolic processes necessary in the body.
The additional lowering of blood pressure caused by a beta-blocker can also lead to the blood supply in the body during sporting activity being insufficient and causing discomfort. If sport is restarted under a beta-blocker, a 24-hour long-term ECG can be used to see whether there is a strong reduction in frequency under a beta-blocker. If this is the case, the beta-blocker should be reduced in any case to avoid imminent undersupply of the organism and the heart.
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