Beta Blockers?—Big Deal

This article seems to be causing a minor splash on the internet at the moment:

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Article/329982,simon-says-i-admit-to-doping.aspx

The term "doping" is being applied to β-blocker usage by pianists. I quote from an interview with Simon Tedeschi:

After years of hiding a dirty habit, I've decided to speak out: a pianist's confession. 

I’ve been living a lie. 

For that I’m sorry. I’m sorry to budding young pianists who looked up to me as a role model. I’m sorry to all my audiences. I’m sorry to piano teachers everywhere. 

To this Norman Lebrecht has stated that:

Every now and then someone breaks the silence about the drugs musicians use to get them on stage and off. 

Mostly beta-blockers. Some with devastating and lasting effect.

I can tell you straight up that this is utterly ridiculous. I would have much preferred to hear a confession and heartfelt public apology about how a musician was "doping" by smoking cigarettes with their "devastating and lasting effect".

β-blockers are most commonly prescribed for high blood pressure and heart failure. They have been used safely for many decades and their safety record has been substantiated in many large scale trials. However, one additional effect is also to reduce tremors such as those related to performance anxiety or due to neurological conditions such as benign essential tremor. This is why some professional musicians may take them in consultation with a doctor.

The main thing to stress is that they must be prescribed by a doctor because some people can have problems exacerbated such as bad circulation, depression, and asthma. Needless to say, having an asthma attack on stage is hardly going to do you any favours. Some people report nightmares from them or else just feeling generally "awful". Many people simply are unable to tolerate taking them. β-blockers have no known long term side effects, and the way they reduce blood pressure, and slow the heart rate, if anything may be life prolonging, especially amongst those who have high blood pressure and heart disease.

However, the suggestion that β-blockers might have "devastating and lasting effect" is extremely misleading, and utterly irresponsible—unless Mr Lebrecht is "devastated" about the potential for them to cause erectile dysfunction, but he can be reassured that even this will go away once the drug wears off. Perhaps Mr Tedeschi too has been left feeling "devastated" at his rather flat after-concert "performance failures" with the ladies, despite mesmerising them with his diabolically spellbinding Liszt. Alas, the life of a modern β-blocker popping concert pianist is so different to that of a rock star.

The use of β-blockers to treat anxiety disorders, including performance anxiety disorders, should be at the discretion of musician and doctor. There is no reason to suggest that this is somehow evil or cheating.

Further Reading:

The following information from the NHS in the UK is simple and accurate:

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Beta-blockers/Pages/Introduction.aspx