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Safety Concerns and Effects of Nebivolol
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from eMedTV.comYou should talk with your healthcare provider prior to taking nebivolol if you have:
- Liver disease, such as liver failure, cirrhosis, or hepatitis
- Kidney disease, such as kidney failure (renal failure)
- Diabetes
- Chest pain (angina)
- Heart failure
- A recent history of heart attack
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Hyperthyroidism
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
- A pheochromocytoma
- An upcoming surgery
- Any allergies, including allergies to food, dyes, or preservatives.
Also, let your healthcare provider know if you are:
- Pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant (see Bystolic and Pregnancy)
- Breastfeeding (see Bystolic and Breastfeeding).
Make sure to tell your healthcare provider about all other medicines you are taking, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
(Click Precautions and Warnings With Nebivolol to learn more, including information on who should not take the drug.)
Nebivolol belongs to a group of drugs called beta-adrenergic blocking agents, more often known as beta blockers. As the name implies, these medications block beta receptors in the body. Beta receptors are located in a number of places within the body, including the heart and blood vessels. Stress hormones (such as adrenaline) bind to these receptors and cause certain reactions in the body, such as:
- Increased heart rate
- Increased force with which the heart pumps blood
- Higher blood pressure (both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure)
- Constricted blood vessels.
At lower doses in most people, nebivolol helps to block a specific type of beta receptor called beta-1 receptors (at higher doses, it also blocks beta-2 receptors). By blocking beta-1 receptors, Nebivolol causes the reverse effect of stress hormones. It decreases heart rate and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD