Beta Blockers For Panic Attacks

More people have been asking me recently about using beta blockers for panic attacks so I thought I’d explain my understanding of it (remember, I’m not a doctor and this is for information only).

How Hormones and Blockers Work

First I want to explain a little about how hormones work. Hormones are chemicals secreted by glands in the body. They travel throughout the body carried by the blood and serum.

Certain cells will have a receptor on their cell membrane a given hormone. When a hormone comes across a cell with the appropriate receptor on it, it binds to the receptor. This triggers a response by the cell and is how hormones exert their influence.

The metaphor often used to explain this action is a lock and key, where the receptor on the cell wall is the lock and the hormone is the “key” that unlocks a given response.

A hormone blocker prevents a hormone from working because it binds to the receptor site instead of the hormone. The blocker doesn’t trigger the same response the hormone would, and because it attaches chemically to the receptor, it keeps the hormone from having an effect.

In the metaphor, it’s like someone put putty in the lock – the key can’t fit in any more.

Beta Blockers For Panic Attacks

Adrenaline is the hormone responsible for many of the physical symptoms of panic attacks. Specifically, it causes the rapid heart rate and pounding pulse.

There are at least two different types of receptors for adrenaline, called alpha and beta. Beta blockers block the beta receptors, thereby preventing adrenaline from having as much affect on the heart and pulse as it normally would.

One of the first beta blockers was Propranolol, but there are a lot of others on the market now.

I think you can see from this that the role of beta blockers for panic attacks will be small. They do nothing to relieve the underlying problem or to prevent the attack. Instead, they just blunt some of the physical symptoms.

They may have a place in helping ease some of the symptoms on a short term basis, but remember all drugs have side effects. Some of the ones caused by beta blockers include lack of energy, low blood pressure and impotence.

You can read about other medicines used to treat panic attacks at:

Medications For Anxiety and Panic Attacks

A Better Answer For Panic Attacks

Rather than use drugs to reduce symptoms, I think it’s much better to get rid of panic attacks all together. Here's a system that does just that:

Panic Away