Beta-Blockers for Heart Failure

Beta-blockers can slow the progression of systolic forms of heart failure. Beta-blockers may be used to treat left ventricular systolic dysfunction in people who are stable and have no symptoms or only mild to moderate heart failure symptoms. Beta-blockers may be used together with other medicines that are usually used to treat heart failure, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or diuretics.

Beta-blockers may be used to treat diastolic heart failure too. With diastolic heart failure, the heart does not have enough time to relax and fill with blood before pumping it out to the rest of your body. Beta-blockers help treat diastolic heart failure, because they slow the heart rate and allow more time for your heart to fill with blood. This allows the left ventricle to fill more completely and increases the volume of blood that the heart pumps with each heartbeat (ejection fraction). Then, your heart can pump more blood with each heartbeat.

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