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Donna Cranford, R.Ph.
B.S. Pharmacy
Pharm.D.
Fellowship drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics
Ask the Pharmacist.....
Question: Are there some medications that may affect heart rate and exercise goals?
Answer: Medications belonging to the class Beta-blockers (beta-adrenergic blocking agents) are used to treat high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, chest pain, heart failure, migraine headaches, among other conditions. Beta blockers slow down your resting heart rate, sometimes by as much as 25% from untreated resting heart rate levels. This slowing continues with exercise, which means that even though your heart rate will still rise as your activity level increases, it may not rise as high as it would if you weren’t taking a beta blocker. Being on a beta blocker doesn’t mean that you can’t exercise vigorously, it just means you can’t rely on your pulse rate to judge how hard you are working. This can create some confusion when trying to reach your target heart rate during aerobic exercise. To account for this decrease in heart rate, you can adjust your target heart rate based on the decrease in your resting heart rate before and after beginning beta-blocker therapy. For instance if your resting heart rate has been lowered 20 beats per minute (bpm), adjust your target heart rate by 20 bpm. However, because peak exercise heart rates are sometimes affected more than the resting heart rate, an exercise stress test or treadmill test is a more precise way to establish a new target heart rate while on beta blocker therapy.
If you are new to exercise or if you have recently been placed on a beta blocker, remember to check with your physician before initiating or resuming an exercise program. Although it is not always necessary to restrict exercise because of beta blocker therapy, it may be necessary to restrict exercise based on your underlying condition. Ask your doctor how strenuously you can work out.
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