Clinical science of calcium channel blocker to inhibit hypertensive vascular injury.

Calcium channel blockers are the strongest and most widely used antihypertensive drugs in Japan. Calcium channel blockers dilate both artery and arteriole that increases end-organ perfusion, thus possessing few side effects especially for the elderly hypertensive patients. The safety of calcium channel blockers was well established. In this paper, important clinical evidence supporting the effectiveness of calcium channel blockers and improving cardiovascular endpoints will be reviewed. Calcium channel blockers protect end-organs from hypertensive vascular injury. In addition, calcium channel blockers show non-inferiority to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers and diuretics regarding cardiovascular endpoints. Furthermore, calcium channel blockers may have superiority to betablockers. Although cardiovascular protection by calcium channel blockers largely depends on their potent blood pressure lowering ability, including central blood pressure, calcium channel blockers can manifest blood pressure-independent vascular protection. Thus, calcium channel blockers are basic antihypertensive drugs, and constitute the treatment of choice to obtain target blood pressure for most hypertensive patients, especially for high-risk population and those with resistant hypertension. An intense treatment of hypertension with adequate doses of calcium channel blockers is mandatory to improve cardiovascular prognosis.