title: Effects of long-term nicardipine treatment on hemodynamics of large arteries in essential hypertension.
abstract: The effects of the calcium-entry blocker nicardipine on brachial hemodynamics were studied in 22 patients (18 male, 4 female) with essential hypertension, who were treated with 20 mg tid for 1 year. Compliance, characteristic impedance, vascular resistances, and tangential tension were measured before treatment and after 1, 3, and 12 months of treatment by an automatic recording from a B-mode, high-resolution, real-time scanner and pulsed Doppler velocimetry for the calculation of the flow volume. We observed statistically significant variations in compliance and impedance after 1 month (3.21 +/- 0.59 dyn-1 cm4 10(-7) vs. 1.26 +/- 0.16 dyn-1 cm4 10(-7) and 50.6 +/- 4.7 dyn s cm-510(2) vs. 91.4 +/- 7.3 dyn s cm-5 10(2), respectively; mean +/- SEM; p less than 0.001), while tangential tension was significantly reduced after only 3 months (23.2 +/- 2.2 mmHg vs. 25.4 +/- 2.3 mmHg cm; p less than 0.05). The correlation between variations in mean blood pressure and in the hemodynamic parameters studied remained statistically significant throughout the study. Nicardipine improved the parameters of large-artery hemodynamics that favor a normal systolic pulse.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Medica dell'Università di Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arosio
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pancera
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arcaro
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Priante
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Montesi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zannoni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lechi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries / Q000187:drug effects*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009529:Nicardipine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D009529:Nicardipine