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Originally Posted by willravel
Do beta blockers like Atenelol effect depression as well as short term memory? My doc won't give me a straight answer.
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The straight answer is "yes," but it occurs in a small percentage of patients who take the drug. In their clinical trials, 12% of atenolol patients experienced depression, compared to 9% in the placebo group. "Tiredness" was the most common neuropsychiatric event (26%) in the clinical trials, but it is likely to dissapate over time.
The way that short-term memory problems and depression are described in the prescibing information for altenolol suggests that these are by and large rare events (especially short-term memory problems), but when they do occur they can have a significant impact on a patient's functioning.
If you notice some real changes in your funtioning in these areas, then you may want to inquire with your doc as to what other options exist for you. It is possible that another beta-blocker will not cause these problems, or at may at least cause them with less frequency or severity. However, as all beta-blockers have the same mechanism of action, the potential is there for all agents within the class to cause a similar range of side effects.
When it comes to drugs like beta-blockers that may literally allow you to live longer and to stave off progressive life-threatening illnesses, you often have to take the good with the bad.
I'm curious: are you under the care of a cardiologist, or a primary care doctor?
Hope that helps!