Oops i was taking atenolol : ) I confused the names : (
You may find this study useful:
Reducing Heart Rate in Hypertension Is Harmful -- or Is It Just Atenolol?
http://www.medscape....warticle/582499If you require a beta blocker, I suggest Carvedilol too. There are other alternatives for high blood pressure, including ace inhibitors and arbs, although they won't really lower heart rate. Some, such as Altace, has been shown to reduce risk of heart attack too. This may be a class effect, or not... I'm not sure if that's been studied in detail yet. But since you mentioned a high heart rate, you might want to ask your doctor about carvedilol/coreg.
You can also try supplements. Magnesium might help some. Aged Garlic + C might help. Exercise should help too. And an occasional BP of 145/80 isn't actually so bad, if you are just talking about rare stressful situations. Everybody's pulse and blood pressure rises on occasion. I get white coat syndrome myself, so even though my BP is fine at home, going to the doctor usually moves me into the 135/80-85ish range.
But if you are talking about a sustained high blood pressure/pulse, it should be dealt with.