Age related antihypertensive effect of nitrendipine, a new calcium entry blocking agent

The effect of nitrendipine 20 mg o.d., a new calcium entry blocker similar in structure to nifedipine, on blood pressure has been evaluated in 14 patients (aged 24-62 years) with uncomplicated mild or moderate arterial hypertension. A significant decrease both in systolic (160 +/- 12 at baseline vs 141 +/- 8 mm Hg, p less than 0.001) and diastolic (106 +/- 8 vs 93 +/- 3 mm Hg, p less than 0.001) blood pressure was observed at the end of 8 weeks of nitrendipine treatment. An inverse correlation was found between age and the reduction in diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.772, p less than 0.001 as absolute reduction; r = 0.791, p less than 0.001 as percentage reduction versus baseline). This peculiar characteristic differentiates the effect of nitrendipine from that of other calcium entry blockers, which appear to be more effective in older patients.