A type of medication known as beta blockers can help get high blood pressure under control, as well as help prevent heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. Beta blockers work by reducing the heart rate and causing the heart to beat less forcefully. They also relax blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure and allows blood to travel more easily to all areas of the body.
Propranolol
Propranolol can treat high blood pressure, chest pain, and heart arrhythmias . Some doctors also prescribe this medication to treat or prevent heart attacks. This medication can produce some non-serious common side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, insomnia and fatigue, as well as sexual problems, such as impotence and a lowered libido.
Metoprolol
Like other beta blockers, metoprolol may help reduce blood pressure; help people survive heart attacks; reduce the constriction of blood vessels; and reduce the heart rate. Common, non-serious side effects include many of the same as propranolol, as well as dizziness, depression, a rash, heartburn and a runny nose.
Atenolol
Atenolol, it another drug that works to decrease heart rates and open blood vessels. It functions to change the nerve impulse responses in the heart as well as other areas of the body. This raises the level of oxygen reaching the person's heart as well. Atenolol can induce non-serious common side effects such as depression, irritability, insomnia and appetite loss. It also may produce serious common side effects such as blurred vision, shortness of breath, mental confusion, fatigue and dizziness.
Bisoprolol
Bisoprolol works the same way as other beta blockers. People taking bisoprolol also may take a diuretic to achieve better control of high blood pressure. It has no reported serious common side effects, the Mayo Clinic reports. The National Institutes of Health list tiredness, vomiting and muscle aches as the most common non-serious side effects of bisoprolol.
Carvedilol
Carvedilol functions the same way as other beta blockers. Common and non-serious side effects include dry eyes, headaches, weakness, and tingling or numbness in the feet and hands, according to Drugs.com.
