Nifedipine in the treatment of difficult hypertensives

Nifedipine has been assessed as a possible alternative to other third line drugs in the management of patients with difficult to control hypertension. A group of 20 patients whose blood pressure was unsatisfactory on a 3 drug regimen had their third drug stopped and after a 2 week period nifedipine was added to their beta-blocker plus diuretic therapy. Eleven became normotensive on 30 mg nifedipine daily and a further 6 on 60 mg daily; giving on overall success rate of 85%. This result was achieved with a reduction in side effects and an absence of any haemodynamic or metabolic complications.