Abstract
Because of their unique action on the cardiovascular system, the calcium channel blockers have generated a great deal of excitement among pharmacologists, physiologists, and clinicians. One obvious potential application for these drugs is in antihypertensive therapy and, although experience with these agents for this indication is limited in the United States, it is considerable in Europe and Japan. These agents' ultimate role in antihypertensive therapy, however, has not been established. Since the available calcium channel blockers are structurally diverse, it is uncertain whether they will have comparable effects in hypertension. The rationale for the use of calcium channel blockers in treating hypertension and the relevant pharmacologic actions of these agents is discussed, along with a summary of some of the clinical trials, observations from our own experience with these drugs, and speculation about their future role in antihypertensive therapy.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 135-142 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | American Journal of Medicine |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue number | 4 A |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1984 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:From the Cardiology Service of the Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Clinical Pharmacology Division, Department of Medicine, and Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California. This work was supported in part by training grant GM 07546 of the NIGMS, grant number HL 28146 of the NHLBI, and by the Veterans Administration Research Service. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Barry Massie, Cardiology Division (111C), VA Hospital, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, California 94121.