Calcium antagonists and vasodilatation.
Calcium antagonists comprise a diverse group of chemically unrelated agents that interact with voltage-operated calcium channels (L-type) and thereby inhibit smooth muscle contractility. They are used to treat several major cardiovascular disorders, including hypertension and angina pectoris; they are also studied in congestive heart failure and in atherosclerosis. The current view is that their therapeutic action is related to vasodilatation. This view is an oversimplification, as will be shown in this review. It will also be illustrated that all calcium antagonists are not identical pharmacological agents.
Laboratoire de Pharmacologie, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
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D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D002118:Calcium / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D002120:Calcium Channel Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000187:drug effects*
D002120:Calcium Channel Agonists; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D002118:Calcium