Hey Clane! I was given a rx from cardiologist for Atenolol 25 mg to treat my BP. He also said that it would be good also because of the afib. I take Multaq for my afib. My heart rate runs about 55-60. So I was hesitant to be on a beta blocker. I let him know of my concern so I take HCTZ. So I never had to take atenolol. I do have a close friend that takes it for rate control with no problems. But I agree with what your doc said about if 25mg is too much, then take half.

Take care and best wishes!
Cheryl

Atenolol was the first med I was put on when first diagnosed with afib, I forget the dosage. I tolerated it very well and it seemed to help with rhythm as well. Following emergency gall bladder removal where I was taken off all meds, I went into sustained afib fofr 5 days and was given Solalol, which pretty quickly converted me to nsr but over time it's effectiveness waned and I was taken off of it and put back on atenolol. For me it's a pretty good match. In fact, after a meal at a Japanese rest. last night, I went into pounding afib with rate in the mid 100's (very scarey - almost went to the ER) but took an extra atenolol pill (50mg) and within 30 mins rate returned to 50 - 70 bpm and pounding stopped. It could been a coincidence but I've had similar experiences with this drug. I've been on Sotalol and Metropolol (in the ER) and if I have to be on bb, atenolol is my choice.

P.S.

I suspect the miso soup had MSG which is a trigger for me.

Hi Cheryl- Thanks for your comments. Good to hear from you! I will be starting the Atenolol today. Does the HCTZ work well on your BP? Is your rate stable on it and not lower than normal?

Hi Tom: I appreciate you sharing your experience with Atenolol. I hope I find it to be a good match for me too.

I was perscribed Atenolol about 10yrs. ago for HBP. I am sensitive to Beta Blockers...I get lethargic and unresponsive. It was soon replace by Lisinopril.

I am hopeful that this will be the answer for you!!!!!!

Hi Carrie, I used atenolol 50 mg prior to my ablation. My BP was very normal prior to that. You do have a BP monitor for home use?
Everyone is different, you'll have to try it and see. 25 mg is not a large dose so that's a good place to start.
Best wishes,
Rick

My daughter takes atenolol for tachycardia and has no problems with it either. Although the dr. did tell her to eat as much salt as she wants to counteract the lowering of BP. Good luck with it!

Kelly

Thank you Kelly, Carol and Rick for your comments. I do monitor my blood pressure at home. I took the first 25 mg dose yesterday around 9am. Within 1 hour, my HR was 65-75 and my blood pressure remained unchanged. I felt good all day yesterday, HR stayed below 100 all day. However, toward evening and bedtime, HR started to creep up into the 110-120 range again. I am thinking that maybe I need to take the dose mid day or mid afternoon. So far, I am happy with this medication.

Hi Carrie , so glad that Atenolol is working so far. I have no experience with this medication at all, but I looked up its half life and it is 6 to 7 hours. I think you might be on the right track in experimenting with when it is the best time to take it. I've also heard that some patients split the dosage and take it twice daily, with their doctor's approval of course. Anyway it's great that it seems to be working fot you.

after 2 ablations, now started having episodes.I am on Multaq and 1 atenolol.ok for
a year. Just started up again and I am to take
atenolol in am and pm.daily.Very upset.
gaby61@aol.com

Clane, my wife took atenolol after her last afib attack. It worked as far as rate control but she felt really bad. The EP even cut the dose to 12.5 but she still felt so bad that she quit taking it. That was one of the reason she decided to have the ablation. I guess it works for most people but she has problems with a lot of meds.

The hctz seems to be working. I have been on it about a year now. He originally wrote the rx for 25mg but that dose would bottom out my bp. So I break it in half and take 12. 5 mg daily. Since you find that your atenolol is not holding you over, you can try to take half in the am and the other half pm. But of course check with you provider first. Keep us updated.

Thanks Cheryl- Actually, I started that routine today. I took half this morning and plan on taking the other half before bed. I think this is going to work very well for me.