Calcium channel blockers in treatment of hypertension.

Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are among the most often prescribed drugs for the treatment of hypertension, but there is still uncertainty regarding the risks and benefits of their use as first-line drugs in the treatment of hypertension. Compared with placebo, dihydropyridine CCBs (long-acting nifedipine and nitrendipine) reduce the risk for cardiovascular endpoints, and in a pooled analysis of available studies on treatment of hypertension, significantly decrease the risk for strokes and cardiovascular and total mortality. This also holds true for patients with diabetes who have a clearly reduced risk when treated with CCBs as compared with placebo. However, compared with other active treatments in mixed study populations, CCBs are associated with a small risk increase for myocardial infarction and heart failure, but for cardiovascular mortality, there is only a very small and nonsignificant trend to a risk increase, and total mortality is similar. Among patients with diabetes, compared with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in particular, available data suggest that CCB use is associated with a moderate increase in cardiac endpoints. Therefore, among patients with diabetes and those with heart failure, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors are preferable as first-line drugs; among the large fraction of patients without these conditions, there is no convincing evidence that long-acting dihydropyridine or nondihydropyridine CCBs are inferior to other blood pressure-lowering drugs. In these patients, the choice of blood pressure-lowering medication can be based on the expected tolerability, costs, and personal preferences. Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company