Heart Health

America’s Beta-Blocker Habit: Millions Are on a Drug They May Not Need

New research questions the routine prescription of beta-blockers after heart attacks and for high blood pressure, but prescribing habits are slow to change.
America’s Beta-Blocker Habit: Millions Are on a Drug They May Not Need
Kristijan Kuzel/Shutterstock
Sheramy Tsai
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Blair Tindall, Grammy-nominated oboist and author of “Mozart in the Jungle,” once admitted that she couldn’t get through an audition without help. Her hands shook, her heart raced—until a fellow musician gave her a beta-blocker. Suddenly, she could play.

Tindall died of cardiovascular disease in 2023 at age 63. The drug she credited with saving her career is now one of the most common U.S. prescriptions. In 2023, U.S. pharmacies dispensed about 60 million metoprolol prescriptions and 10 million propranolol prescriptions, making them two of the most common beta-blockers in use. Familiarity has made beta-blockers feel safe, even ordinary.
Sheramy Tsai
Sheramy Tsai
Author
Sheramy Tsai, BSN, RN, is a seasoned nurse with a decade-long writing career. An alum of Middlebury College and Johns Hopkins, Tsai combines her writing and nursing expertise to deliver impactful content. Living in Vermont, she balances her professional life with sustainable living and raising three children.