Calcium antagonists as antiatherogenic agents.

Pharmacological manipulations of calcium metabolism in animals fed high-fat diets may slow the progression of atherosclerosis. Agents with calcium-chelating (diphosphonic acid and thiophene carboxylic acid derivatives) or calcium-channel-blocking properties (dihydropyridine derivatives, verapamil and its derivatives, diltiazem) have been demonstrated to suppress atherogenesis in rabbits and monkeys. The antiatherosclerotic effects appear to occur in the absence of hypolipidemic effects. The mechanisms of action of the structurally unrelated drugs remain to be elucidated.