What is the difference between the way beta blockers and nitrates work to control blood pressure?

Beta blockers slow the heart rate and decrease the pressure in the blood vessels. It's like a hose with a kink has more pressure and is more apt to rupture, versus a regular hose which applies a steady pressure. Beta blockers make your arteries like the regular hose. Nitroglycerin is a vaso dilator: it causes the veins to open wider, thus lowering the pressure the blood is under. If you think of a heart as as the pump and the veins as a hose then you can understand that the wider(more dilated ) hose would ensure the blood passes with less pressure.





Hope this helps.What is the difference between the way beta blockers and nitrates work to control blood pressure?
Beta blockers work by blocking the effects of catecholamines (hormones such as adrenalin) on the heart and blood vessels.





Nitrates directly relax the muscles in vessel walls.