Betablockers

Alzheimer's, cardiovascular, and other chronic diseases; biomarkers, lifestyle, supplements, drugs, and health care.
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Chrisweides
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Betablockers

Post by Chrisweides »

Hello kind and knowledgeable fellow ApoE4s,

I read through your brilliant material but could not find an answer there. I assume some of you besides myself must be on betablockers for one reason or another (metoprolol for me). I need it for tachycardia, hypertension and migraine prevention.

Now it has made me apprehensive that I read that betablockers play a role in cognitive decline. Is this really so? Do any of you have any scientific information about this?

Best

Chris
51 years old. APO E3/4. Mother, grandmother and great grandmother had/are starting with dementia. Afflicted with anxiety disorder atm. Very eager to save brain and live a long healthy life. Grateful to you all for your knowledge and kindness!
NF52
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Re: Betablockers

Post by NF52 »

Chrisweides wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:02 am Hello kind and knowledgeable fellow ApoE4s,

I read through your brilliant material but could not find an answer there. I assume some of you besides myself must be on betablockers for one reason or another (metoprolol for me). I need it for tachycardia, hypertension and migraine prevention.

Now it has made me apprehensive that I read that betablockers play a role in cognitive decline. Is this really so? Do any of you have any scientific information about this?

Best

Chris
Hi Chris,

All these heart drugs can be confusing! There are several classes, including calcium channel blockers (CCB's) (metroprolol is a CBB), beta blockers, and ACE inhibitors, among others. Here's the great news for you from a 2021 article that looked at well-designed randomized controlled trials of various types of drugs in almost 650,000 people:

Antihypertensive Medication Classes and the Risk of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis
Fifteen observational studies and 7 RCTs were included. Data on AHM classes were available for 649,790 participants and dementia occurred in 19,600 (3.02%). Network meta-analysis showed that in observational studies, treatment with either calcium channel blockers (CCBs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) was associated with lower dementia risks than treatment with other antihypertensives: CCBs vs angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) (HR=0.84, 95% CI 0.74-0.95), beta blockers (HR=0.83, 95% CI 0.73-0.95) and diuretics (HR=0.89, 95% CI 0.78-1.01) and ARBs vs ACE inhibitors (HR=0.88, 95% CI 0.81-0.97), beta blockers (HR=0.87, 95% CI 0.77-0.99), and diuretics (HR=0.93, 95% CI 0.83-1.05). There were insufficient RCTs to create a robust network based on randomized data alone.

Conclusions and Implications
Recommending CCBs or ARBs as preferred first-line antihypertensive treatment may significantly reduce the risk of dementia. If corroborated in a randomized setting, these findings reflect a low-cost and scalable opportunity to reduce dementia incidence worldwide.
. So I think it's safe to trust your doctors and protect both your heart and your brain!
Nancy
4/4 and still an optimist!
Chrisweides
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Re: Betablockers

Post by Chrisweides »

Ok, thank you very much! I‘ll try to get my doctor to switch to a CCB or ARB instead of the betablockers. Actually now that I think of it my mum started on metoprolol a year ago. I wonder if that has contributed to her memory issues.

Best

Chris
51 years old. APO E3/4. Mother, grandmother and great grandmother had/are starting with dementia. Afflicted with anxiety disorder atm. Very eager to save brain and live a long healthy life. Grateful to you all for your knowledge and kindness!
NF52
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Re: Betablockers

Post by NF52 »

Chrisweides wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:23 am Ok, thank you very much! I‘ll try to get my doctor to switch to a CCB or ARB instead of the betablockers. Actually now that I think of it my mum started on metoprolol a year ago. I wonder if that has contributed to her memory issues.

Best

Chris
Chris, you said in your post that you are on metoprolol currently, so you don't need to switch anything. A CCB is one type of betablocker that is viewed as protective in the study above. [I am allergic to penicillin as an antibiotic, but can take other antibiotics without a problem. Think of betablockers as a big class of drugs, only a few of which (the ACE inhibitors) seem to be a problem.

All the research on dementia shows it takes many years for changes to occur. I assume your mother's medication is to keep her heart beating well also and has not contributed to her memory issues.
4/4 and still an optimist!
Chrisweides
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Re: Betablockers

Post by Chrisweides »

Aaah ok! I have to admit I dont quite know how to read these studies so I have to rely on the conclusion. Thank you again.

I’m currently trying to find out and change as much as I can and its driving me a bit nuts. For example, I’ll have to take something against anxiety. Benzos are bad for AD. Whee! I dont want them anyway. Treating depression is good! Whee! Oh, I cant tolerate SSRI. Oh no! Tricyclics are out apparently. Oh no! Lets switch to a MAO-A-inhibitor (doctors last resort). MAO inhibition might be good for AD (one study). Whee! Another study: Antidepressants contribute to dementia and MAO inhibitors worse than others. Oh no! And so on. Its very exhausting.

So thank you very much for helping me. I’m not normally such a nervous wreck.
51 years old. APO E3/4. Mother, grandmother and great grandmother had/are starting with dementia. Afflicted with anxiety disorder atm. Very eager to save brain and live a long healthy life. Grateful to you all for your knowledge and kindness!
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floramaria
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Re: Betablockers

Post by floramaria »

Chrisweides wrote: Tue Jun 07, 2022 9:54 am
I’m currently trying to find out and change as much as I can and its driving me a bit nuts. For example, I’ll have to take something against anxiety. Benzos are bad for AD. Whee! I dont want them anyway. Treating depression is good! Whee! Oh, I cant tolerate SSRI. Oh no! Tricyclics are out apparently. Oh no! Lets switch to a MAO-A-inhibitor (doctors last resort). MAO inhibition might be good for AD (one study). Whee! Another study: Antidepressants contribute to dementia and MAO inhibitors worse than others. Oh no! And so on. Its very exhausting.
:lol: great description of the ups and downs of doing our research! I have similar experiences, finding things recommended in one place only to read somewhere else that they should be avoided at all cost!
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach
IFM/ Bredesen Training in Reversing Cognitive Decline (March 2017)
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