Why is this important?

Beta blockers are a type of medicine that is used to lower blood pressure as well as treat chest pain (angina) and heart failure. Beta blockers can help prevent a heart attack by relieving relieve the stress on your heart. Stress is reduced by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which your heart muscles contract to pump blood. They also help keep blood vessels from constricting in your heart, brain, and body. If you have a heart attack, you should get a prescription for a beta blocker before you leave the hospital.

Information about Heart Attack Care

A heart attack (also called an acute myocardial infarction) happens when the arteries leading to the heart become blocked and the blood supply is slowed or stopped. When the heart muscle can’t get the oxygen and nutrients it needs, the part of the heart tissue that is affected may die.

The symptoms of a heart attack can include

• chest pain (often described as a crushing, squeezing or burning pain in the center of the chest and may radiate to your arm or jaw)
• shortness of breath
• dizziness faintness
• sweating
• nausea
• cold or clammy skin
• a gray or very ill appearance

Sometimes there may be no symptoms, especially if you have diabetes. Women sometimes have different symptoms, such as a different kind of chest pain and/or abdominal pain.