Hey there, welcome to paging Dr. Gupta. Thank you so much for joining us. As you know by now,

this is the place where I get to hear from you. You've been sending in so many questions,

great questions, sending in your stories. We're listening to them. I want you to know that.

We're hopefully getting you information to help you better understand

your health. Jennifer's back with us. What do we have first? Hi, Sanjay. Today's question comes from

Paul in New Westminster, British Columbia. He writes, I had a heart attack in 2007 and have since

been on beta blockers.

Should I continue them?

All right, Paul, thank you so much for your question.

Beta blockers have been in the news a lot lately.

And, you know, for more than 40 years, they've been one of the most commonly prescribed

medications in America.

They've been prescribed as a standard treatment for

people after a heart attack, sort of a first-line therapy. The goal is to slow down the heart

rate and hopefully prevent future heart attacks. That's why they've been prescribed. But

doctors, scientists, taking a closer look now at these medications, how much they're actually necessary, and in whom.

So today, beta blockers, what we know and what to consider if you're interested in stopping them, like Paul is.

We'll get into it right after the break. Stick with us.

Okay, so Paul wants to know if he should consider going off his beta blocker.

First of all, let me just say this to start. You should absolutely talk to your doctor about this. Absolutely. And let me put an exclamation mark on this. There is actually a black box warning about stopping beta blockers

too abruptly. If you stop them, your heart rate can shoot up. Your blood pressure can shoot up,

and that can be a problem,

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