___ blockers (heart rate meds)

As a detective, my first instinct when encountering a crossword clue is to look for any keywords or hints that may point me in the right direction. In this case, the clue reads “___ blockers (heart rate meds).” The blank space tells me that I am looking for a word that describes a type of medication that is used to lower heart rate. Knowing this, I began to think about different types of medications that can achieve this effect, and one particular class of drugs came to mind – beta blockers.

Beta blockers are a type of medication used to treat a variety of heart-related conditions, including high blood pressure and heart failure. They work by blocking the effects of the hormone adrenaline in the body, which can lower heart rate and reduce the workload on the heart. As I thought more about beta blockers, I realized that they fit perfectly into the crossword clue – the blank space was likely meant to be filled with the word “beta.”

Of course, there are other types of heart rate medications out there, but the fact that the clue specifically mentions “blockers” and the fact that beta blockers are a well-known class of medications made me confident in my answer. Overall, it was a combination of careful consideration and knowledge of pharmacology that led me to the answer “beta” and helped me solve the mystery of the crossword clue.