Heart Rate Training and Beta Blockers

tonkoch said:

Greetings
I have been using a HR monitor for a couple of years and the effects on my cycle training have been dramatic. I am a big fan of using one. My 70 year old father is training at a gym for general fitness and I would like to get him to train using a monitor. He is very healthy except for a mild case of primary hypertension. He takes a low dose beta blocker without a diuretic with good results. He feels like his resting HR is about 10 beats lower per minute at rest as a result of the beta blocker. How would I design his heart rate zones based on his Beta Blocker limitations? One trainer told me it could not be done effectively. Any thoughts
Many Thanks
Tony

He should take advice on this from his cardiologist....not the e-opinions on here!

I'll second ed's opinion. I think you can find some good anecdotal evidence as to what may or may not work just based on other peoples' experiences, but that's something that should essentially be left to a doctor or clinical exercise physiologist. There are too many variables that can change during exercise and the medication may play a big role in that, so unfortunately I don't think you'll get much useful information from people here simply because (and this goes for myself - because I'm knowledgable in this area also) they don't feel comfortable giving out medical advice via the forums. It's just not the safest thing to do.

Beta Blockers and athletic performance don't mix. For primary hypertension an Ace inhibitor would be effective and not limit athletic performance. A good internal medicide doctor will know what to administer.
Dave