Cardiovascular agents, particularly beta-blockers, are commonly used by clinicians to manage anxiety symptoms, though evidence of their effectiveness is inadequately reviewed.
Do cardiovascular agents improve anxiety symptoms in people with diagnosed or subthreshold anxiety?
This scoping review aims to evaluate the evidence for using various cardiovascular agents, including beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors, to treat diagnosed or subthreshold anxiety.
Some cardiovascular agents, such as beta-blockers, are frequently prescribed by clinicians to manage symptoms of anxiety. However, to our knowledge, there are no existing reviews which broadly examine the evidence of effectiveness of cardiovascular agents in treating anxiety. The current scoping review aims to assess the body of evidence on the anxiolytic effects of cardiovascular agents when administered to people with diagnosed or subthreshold anxiety. A narrative synthesis and risk of bias assessment will be conducted to evaluate the body of evidence for each of the following classes of cardiovascular agents: 1) Beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist (beta blockers), 2) Alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonist (alpha blockers), 3) Alpha 2 adrenergic agonist, 4) ACE inhibitors, 5) ARBs inhibitors and 6) Calcium channel blockers.
Nguyen et al. (2026) studied this question. Cardiovascular agents, particularly beta-blockers, are commonly used by clinicians to manage anxiety symptoms, though evidence of their effectiveness is inadequately reviewed.