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Updated: May 9, 2026
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Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Exercise capacity and ventilatory response during exercise in COPD patients with and without β blockade
Wilawan Thirapatarapong1, Hilary F Armstrong, Matthew N Bartels
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, wilawan.thi@mahidol.ac.th.
Lung
|July 24, 2013
Summary
Beta blockers (BB) do not worsen exercise capacity or gas exchange in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, they do lower heart rate and blood pressure during exercise testing.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Cardiology
- Exercise Physiology
Background:
- Beta blockade (BB) is commonly used in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- While BB does not worsen pulmonary function or respiratory symptoms in COPD patients, its impact on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of BB on exercise capacity, gas exchange, and hemodynamic responses in COPD patients during CPET.
Main Methods:
- A matched-pair study design comparing 24 COPD patients on BB with 24 COPD patients not on BB.
- All participants underwent symptom-limited CPET and resting pulmonary function tests.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in peak oxygen consumption or VE/VCO2 nadir between COPD patients with and without BB.
- COPD patients on BB exhibited significantly lower systolic blood pressure and heart rate at peak exercise compared to those not on BB.
Conclusions:
- Beta blockers do not adversely affect exercise capacity or gas exchange in COPD patients.
- BBs lead to lower heart rate and blood pressure during exercise in COPD patients, suggesting they are safe for functional capacity assessment.
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