Cardiovascular Atlas
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Beta-blockers (drug class)

A class of medicines that slow the heart rate. NHLBI lists beta blockers among medicines commonly used for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and says they ease the work of pumping and can help keep heart failure from worsening over the long term. A summary of the 2022 heart failure guideline names beta blockers as one of four classes of guideline-directed medical therapy.

Also called Beta blockers · Adrenergic beta-antagonists

  • Drug
  • In this atlas

Overview

Technical summary

Class page. MeSH heading D000319, Adrenergic beta-Antagonists, is an exact match. The NHLBI treatment page (last updated March 24, 2022) groups beta blockers with ivabradine and lists slow or irregular heart rate among the possible side effects of the group; the page does not separate beta blockers. No member substance is recorded in this area of the atlas yet, and no trial of a beta blocker is recorded here. NHLBI content is cite only, so this atlas states it in its own words.

About this drug

Level
Class
Mechanism
NHLBI says medicines in this group slow the heart rate, which makes it easier for the heart to pump blood.

Claims and evidence

Context People with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (NHLBI treatment page)

Recipient
Recipient not specified
Population
People with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, as the NHLBI treatment page describes the group of left-sided heart failure that its medicines list is for. The page gives no age limits and no ejection fraction cut-off on this page.
Care setting
Not stated; the page is patient information about treatment.
Geography
United States (an NIH institute page; the page names no jurisdiction)
Life stage
Not stated on the page
Gestational age
Not reported
Postnatal age
Not reported
Follow-up
Not applicable (guideline context)
Eligibility: 1 inclusion criterion; exclusion criteria not stated
Included
  • Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, as the NHLBI page uses the term
Excluded
None stated

  • Description Guidance Certainty not assessed

    NHLBI lists beta blockers among medicines that slow the heart rate, which it says eases the work of pumping and can help keep heart failure from worsening over the long term. It names these medicines among those commonly used for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. For the group of rate-slowing medicines, which also includes ivabradine, it lists possible side effects including a heart rate that is slow or uneven.

    Applies to Recipient not specified
    • People with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, as the NHLBI treatment page describes the group of left-sided heart failure that its medicines list is for. The page gives no age limits and no ejection fraction cut-off on this page.
    • Not stated; the page is patient information about treatment.
    • United States (an NIH institute page; the page names no jurisdiction)
    • Not stated on the page
    • Gestational age Not reported
    • Postnatal age Not reported
    Follow-up Not applicable (guideline context)
    Certainty method
    Not assessed
    Limitations
    The NHLBI page is cite only, so this atlas states it in its own words. The page lists side effects for the whole group, not for beta blockers alone. It gives no doses and no evidence for the claims. The NHLBI treatment page gives no numeric ejection fraction cut-off, so the context here does not state one.
    Last checked
    2026-10-15
    Next evidence check due
    Not scheduled
    Sources and citations (3)

    1. Background Heart failure: treatment (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

      Webpage · National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute · Edition NHLBI page as fetched on 2026-10-15; the page shows that it was last updated on March 24, 2022. · Published 2022-03-24

      Locator
      Medicines, left-sided heart failure, lead-in
      How it applies
      The medicines listed are commonly used for HFrEF.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      803a6bca8adbe88bf19236a1d1ecdd3016cdceb691da6da5b610af03c2d25a0e
      Reuse basis
      NHLBI web page fetched with a plain Mozilla/5.0 user agent on 2026-10-15. Only the hash of the bytes is kept; nothing is committed. The NHLBI pages state no reuse terms that were read here, and the NIH web policies page returned HTTP 403 in clusters E and J and was not retried, so public text is cite_only: public pages state the facts in the atlas's own words, with a citation and a link.

    2. Supports Heart failure: treatment (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

      Webpage · National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute · Edition NHLBI page as fetched on 2026-10-15; the page shows that it was last updated on March 24, 2022. · Published 2022-03-24

      Locator
      Medicines, left-sided heart failure, rate-slowing medicines
      How it applies
      Beta blockers slow the heart rate and ease its work.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      803a6bca8adbe88bf19236a1d1ecdd3016cdceb691da6da5b610af03c2d25a0e
      Reuse basis
      NHLBI web page fetched with a plain Mozilla/5.0 user agent on 2026-10-15. Only the hash of the bytes is kept; nothing is committed. The NHLBI pages state no reuse terms that were read here, and the NIH web policies page returned HTTP 403 in clusters E and J and was not retried, so public text is cite_only: public pages state the facts in the atlas's own words, with a citation and a link.

    3. Supports Heart failure: treatment (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

      Webpage · National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute · Edition NHLBI page as fetched on 2026-10-15; the page shows that it was last updated on March 24, 2022. · Published 2022-03-24

      Locator
      Medicines, left-sided heart failure, rate-slowing medicines, side effects
      How it applies
      Side effects listed for the group.
      Retrieved
      Source effective date
      Not reported
      Source state
      Current
      Snapshot hash
      803a6bca8adbe88bf19236a1d1ecdd3016cdceb691da6da5b610af03c2d25a0e
      Reuse basis
      NHLBI web page fetched with a plain Mozilla/5.0 user agent on 2026-10-15. Only the hash of the bytes is kept; nothing is committed. The NHLBI pages state no reuse terms that were read here, and the NIH web policies page returned HTTP 403 in clusters E and J and was not retried, so public text is cite_only: public pages state the facts in the atlas's own words, with a citation and a link.

Record details

Record id
cardio:beta-blockers
Content hash
3458e83ad333a1440fbef5a7cd7199ef3af45ebb98cf6fa10d06b78815e54691