title: Role of dihydropyridinic calcium channel blockers in the management of hypertension.
abstract: Dihydropyridinic calcium channel blockers are a subclass of antihypertensive drugs with growing significance in the therapeutic armamentarium. Early studies in the 1990s had aroused certain fears with regard to the safety of the first drugs from this class, since they had a fast onset of action and a short half-life, and thus they were associated with reflex adrenergic activation. New molecules with long half-lives and high lipophilia have shown safety and efficacy in the control of blood pressure, as well as in the reduction of several end points related to hypertension. Moreover, these new molecules, which block special subtypes of calcium channel receptors, provide drugs not only with an action profile that goes beyond the antihypertensive effect, but also with a lower rate of side effects. Therefore, in the light of new studies that include calcium channel blockers alone or in combination, these agents will probably be used even more extensively for the management of hypertension in the following years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hypertension Unit, Institute of Medicine & Dermatology, Hospital Clínico, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. acoca@clinic.ub.es
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coca
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mazón
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aranda
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Redón
authors.forename: Juan Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Divisón
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: Josep María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Galcerán
authors.forename: Vivencio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roca-Cusachs I Coll
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004095:Dihydropyridines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000009:adverse effects; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004095:Dihydropyridines