Foridone and other calcium antagonists in the treatment of essential hypertension

Using the radioligand binding method, the authors detected differences between the calcium antagonists Foridone (FOR), nifedipine (NIF), verapamil (VER) and diltiazem (DLT) in their interaction with cardiomyocyte membrane receptors. Further, in an acute pharmacodynamic trial performed in 88 patients with essential hypertension (EH) differences between the above calcium antagonists (CA) in their influence on the mechanisms of haemodynamic regulation were discovered. The study demonstrated that the choice of CA for prolonged monotherapy of EH on the basis of pharmacodynamic trial safeguards a better therapeutic effect compared with CA administration in a randomly selected patient group. FOR proved a promising antihypertensive agent highly effective without dependence on the initial haemodynamic type of the patient; NIF is indicated in EH patients with hypokinetic circulation, VER is more effective in patients with hyperkinetic circulation. DLT has a distinct but, compared with other CA, less pronounced antihypertensive effect.