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.

Keywords::

• amlodipine
• antihypertensive treatment
• dihydropyridinic
• hypertension
• L-type calcium channel blocker
• manidipine
• T-type calcium channel blocker

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Editorial assistance was provided by Content Ed Net Madrid and was funded by Chiesi.

Notes

The global safety of manidipine was signifi cantly better than amlodipine and particularly for ankle edema.

DBP: Diastolic blood pressure; RR: Relative risk; SBP: Systolic blood pressure.

Data taken from [19].