Med Class in a Mug: Decoding Beta Blockers

🎙️ Got questions or a topic you're dying to hear? Text us and let’s make it happen—we’re all ears and ready to roll!

Beta blockers are essential cardiovascular medications that act as the "brake pedal" of the heart, helping to manage conditions like hypertension, angina, arrhythmias, heart failure, and sometimes migraines or anxiety. Despite their complex names that resemble Wi-Fi passwords, these medications follow predictable patterns in their effects and side effects that nursing students can master with simple mnemonics.

• Beta blocker names all end in "-olol" (metoprolol, propranolol, atenolol)
• Function by blocking the sympathetic nervous system's effects on the heart
• Always check vitals before administration (HR <60 or SBP <100 = hold medication)
• Remember the "three Bs" of beta blocker effects: Bradycardia, Blood pressure decrease, Bronchoconstriction
• Can mask hypoglycemia symptoms in diabetic patients
• Never stop beta blockers suddenly as it can cause dangerous rebound effects
• Always assess if the patient's heart is "too slow or too low" before administration

Go, do your best, be kind to yourself and if you need more support, you know where to find me - Coffee before clinicals, anytime.

Music by Smallrose Productions