Jump to: What is bisoprolol? | What is Mounjaro? | Why take Mounjaro and bisoprolol together? | Take home message
You can take Mounjaro with bisoprolol, as the two medications have no known interactions.
However, there are clinical reports of patients on bisoprolol being prescribed Mounjaro for weight loss and experiencing symptomatic hypotension (low blood pressure).
So, caution is advised when taking the two drugs together, and your doctor may need to review your current bisoprolol dose as Mounjaro also has a blood pressure-lowering effect.
Additionally, both bisoprolol and Mounjaro can lead to feelings of tiredness and fatigue, which may be exacerbated if these medications are combined.
If you were to apply for a Mounjaro prescription with Second Nature, the clinical will also assess this for you and provide suitable recommendations.
Still, Mounjaro’s side effects are typically mild and ease after the body has adapted to the medication. So, the benefits of the weight loss Mounjaro can support may outweigh the risks.
You’d only be eligible for a Mounjaro prescription if you’re not in the healthy BMI range. If you’re in the healthy BMI range, you won’t qualify for Mounjaro, as it could lead to unnecessary weight loss.
What is bisoprolol?
Bisoprolol is a heart medication that belongs to a group called beta-blockers. It mainly treats high blood pressure, heart failure, and heart disease.
Bisoprolol works by slowing down the heart rate and reducing how hard the heart works. This helps lower blood pressure.
Research has shown that bisoprolol lowers the risk of heart failure and improves cardiovascular outcomes in high-risk patients.
In the Cardiac Insufficiency Bisoprolol Study II (CIBIS-II), the absolute risk of all-cause mortality and sudden death was reduced by around 6% and 3%, compared to placebo.
The most common side effects of bisoprolol are slow heartbeat, diarrhoea, and feeling unusually weak or tired.
What is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is a dual-action weight-loss injection.
It supports weight loss by mimicking two hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, that communicate with the brain’s appetite control centre, the hypothalamus, to lower hunger and food-seeking behaviour.
By lowering hunger and our desire to eat, Mounjaro helps us eat fewer calories to achieve a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit occurs when we consume fewer calories than our body needs to fuel its essential functions, such as digestion, blood flow, and brain function.
By creating a calorie deficit, our bodies will ‘burn’ the excess fat stored for energy, and we’ll lose weight.
Mounjaro also slows down the rate at which we digest food so that our stomach and gut send signals to the brain to signal the feeling of fullness.
So, Mounjaro supports weight loss by making us feel less hungry through two mechanisms:
- Communicating with the brain’s appetite control centre
- Slowing the rate that food is digested
Randomised controlled trials have shown that Mounjaro leads to an average weight loss of around 26% after one year.
Why take Mounjaro with bisoprolol?
People living with obesity have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure.
Research from Framingham (a longitudinal cardiovascular study of over 5,000 adults in the U.S.) showed that people living with a BMI of over 30 had 16 mmHg higher systolic and 9 mmHg higher diastolic blood pressure compared to those with a BMI below 25.
While there’s a connection between obesity and blood pressure, it’s more likely due to the lifestyle that leads to obesity that’s causing higher blood pressure than it solely being a direct effect of having excess body fat.
Poor diet, a lack of physical activity, poor sleep, and stress can all lead to higher blood pressure, and many people living with obesity have normal blood pressure, much like many people who are a ‘healthy’ weight will be living with high blood pressure, despite lower levels of body fat.
Still, research has shown that losing weight (or the process of getting healthier to support weight loss) consistently reduces blood pressure.
Additionally, randomised controlled trials have shown that tirzepatide (the drug in Mounjaro) significantly reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure by around 7 mmHg and 4 mmHg.
The number of participants on Mounjaro with elevated blood pressure significantly reduced during this trial, and the percentage of participants with normal blood pressure increased from 30.2% to 58% after 72 weeks of treatment.
So, if you’re currently living with obesity and high blood pressure, Mounjaro may help you lose weight and have the complimentary benefit of lowering blood pressure alongside bisoprolol.
Mounjaro has also been shown to have cardiovascular benefits beyond lowering blood pressure.
As discussed above, clinical case reports suggest that combining the two drugs can lead to symptomatic low blood pressure, particularly when adjusting doses.
It’s worth monitoring the response to both medications and keeping your healthcare team informed of any adverse effects you experience.
Take home message
There’s always a level of risk associated with combining medications that haven’t been directly studied when taken together.
The potential blood-pressure-lowering impact of Mounjaro means you should apply caution if you’re currently taking blood pressure-lowering medication and are considering taking Mounjaro for weight loss.
Still, Mounjaro’s health benefits extend beyond its ability to lower blood pressure. Its ability to support weight loss could lead to significant health improvements, including lower blood sugar, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and greater physical independence.
If you applied for a Mounjaro prescription with Second Nature, the clinical team would assess your situation and provide any necessary guidance.
Plus, our team of registered dietitians and nutritionists will help you develop the healthy habits you need to help lower your blood pressure naturally in the long term.
Second Nature’s medication programmes
Second Nature has two medication-supported programmes: a Wegovy weight-loss programme and a Mounjaro weight-loss programme.
Why should you choose Second Nature over other medication providers if you’ve decided to try Mounjaro or Wegovy (assuming you’re eligible)?
For peace of mind.
Second Nature has worked with the NHS for over 6 years, providing weight-loss programmes across the UK.
While our Wegovy and Mounjaro weight-loss programmes are private and not currently used by the NHS, we’ve built the programmes focusing on scientific evidence, patient safety, and data security.
We hope that our 6+ years of working with the NHS and building a track record of effective weight-loss results will give you peace of mind to give us a try.
