Ask the doctor: Does a beta blocker interfere with exercise?
You have several options for guiding your workouts. One is to lower the estimate of your peak heart rate by the amount that atenolol has reduced your resting heart rate. If, for example, your resting heart rate used to be 70 and is now 60, subtract 10 from the age-based estimate of your peak heart rate. An easier method is to use the talk test: you are exercising at moderate intensity if you are breathing faster than normal but can still say a sentence or two out loud or sing a snatch of a favorite song. If you aren't the least bit out of breath, speed up; if you have trouble finishing a sentence, slow down. If, for some reason, you need to have an exercise stress test, it will reveal your new peak heart rate.
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