Medical therapy of Prinzmetal's variant angina.
Medical therapy for Prinzmetal's variant angina has been treatment of the acute attack with sublingual nitroglycerin. Prophylactic therapy has been more difficult, utilizing long-acting vasodilators that are limited because of their short half-life and side effects when therapeutic doses are used. Alpha-adrenergic blockade has been effective in some patients but is frequently associated with intolerable side effects or apparent development of tolerance to the drug. Preliminary experience from a randomized double-blind trial of diltiazem, a new calcium antagonist, has demonstrated a 90% reduction in pain episodes, with many patients becoming pain-free on the 240-mg daily dose. These data and the lack of adverse side effects demonstrate a dramatically effective therapy for patients with coronary artery spasm.
D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000788:Angina Pectoris, Variant / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004110:Diltiazem / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D005996:Nitroglycerin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010146:Pain; D010919:Placebos
D001552:Benzazepines; D010919:Placebos; D004110:Diltiazem; D005996:Nitroglycerin