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These medicines help keep the heart from beating faster to make up for its weak pumping action. They also help to lower blood pressure. They help to:
- Improve your chances of living longer.
- Improve your heart failure symptoms.
- Make you feel better.
They may also help to keep you out of the hospital. Different drugs have different benefits.
People with asthma may not be able to take these medicines. If you start to wheeze or feel short of breath, call your doctor or seek medical help right away.
Some things to watch for:
- Water buildup and heart failure symptoms that get worse when you start taking the medicine. (Symptoms to watch for include shortness of breath, trouble breathing, or swelling in the feet and lower legs.) Call your doctor if you gain weight (PDF Format) for more than two days straight, or if you gain two or more pounds in one day.
- Feeling tired or weak. This often goes away after a few weeks. In some cases, you may need a lower dose of medicine. Tell your doctor if you have these symptoms after starting on this medicine.
- Feeling dizzy or light-headed. This may be caused if you have very low blood pressure when you start taking the medicine. It usually goes away after a few days. Tell your doctor if you get this symptom. Sometimes changing the time when you take your medicine may help, or lowering the doses of other drugs as your doctor directs.
- Slow heartbeat or a heartbeat that skips. Contact your doctor if you have this symptom. He or she can change your dose.
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