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Previous Volume 341:1447-1457 November 4, 1999 Number 19 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Drugs classified as calcium antagonists or calcium-channel blockers were introduced into clinical medicine in the 1960s and are now among the most frequently prescribed drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.¹ Although the currently available calcium antagonists are chemically diverse, they share the common property of blocking the transmembrane flow of calcium ions through voltage-gated L-type (slowly inactivating) channels.² These drugs have proved effective in patients with hypertension, angina pectoris, and cardiac arrhythmias and may be beneficial in patients with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, Raynaud's phenomenon, migraine, preterm labor, esophageal spasm, and bipolar disorders.

L-Type Calcium Channels

All calcium antagonists bind to the _1c . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Calcium Channels and Cell Growth

Clinical Pharmacology

Pharmacokinetics

Pharmacodynamics

Therapeutic Uses and Controversies

Hypertension

Angina Pectoris

Supraventricular Arrhythmias

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Myocardial Infarction

Risk of Cancer

Drug Interactions

Pharmacokinetic Basis

Interactions with Cardiac Glycosides

Pharmacodynamic Interactions

            Cardiac Interactions

            Vascular Interactions

            Noncardiovascular Interactions

Special Considerations

Older Patients

Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

Overdose of Calcium Antagonists

Conclusions

Source Information

From the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. (D.R.A.); and the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Geriatrics, Northwestern University Medical Center, Chicago (J.B.S.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Abernethy at the National Institute on Aging, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, Gerontology Research Center, 5600 Nathan Shock Dr., Baltimore, MD 21224-6825, or at abernethyd@grc.nia.nih.gov.

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