Antiatherosclerotic effects of calcium channel blockers

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Conventional treatment of hypertension has done little to reduce mortality from coronary artery disease. In fact, some of the antihypertensive agents routinely prescribed appear to be atherogenic. In this article, Dr Sowers suggests that in addition to life-style changes and use of lipid-lowering agents, certain calcium channel blockers may inhibit the atherosclerotic process in hypertensive patients. Using the results of animal and human studies, he describes the antiatherogenic mechanisms of these agents.