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t1_iw6rf2o wrote

Blood thinners do not thin the blood. They prevent the blood from clotting too easily.

In nearly all cases this does not actually improve blood flow/mechanics at all. Because blood is to flow properly in the first place.

However blood pressure medication can obviously improve blood flow to different parts of the body and thus improve blood flow to the stomach; or more importantly the small intestine, and thus do change speed of digestion.

However you give beta blockers to normalize blood pressure and heart rate. So at best you‘d just get regular digestion going?

Though the psychological effects of beta blockers would have a much more massive effect on digestion anyway: parasympathetic signaling would increases do to feeling more relaxed because of no palpitations.

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t1_iw6u0z4 wrote

Are beta blockers more like “fiber” but for the heart system?

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t1_iw6yp2p wrote

No, not really.

Per my gastroenterologist and people I’ve know who study this stuff… Fiber kind fills the nooks and crannies of your intestines and provides a food for the bacteria in your gut. The “good” bacteria in your gut happen to thrive on fiber.

Beta blockers work by blocking receptors in your heart muscle that sense certain hormones (namely adrenaline) in your blood, thus making your heart less sensitive to them. The hormones being blocked make your heart pump harder and faster. Because they are blocked, your heart beats slower and less hard.

In the case of beta blockers, your body being less sensitive to adrenaline has the effect of relieving physical signs of stress. This can to a calming effect for some people.

Edit: made this comment shorty after waking up, fixed a major typo.

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