Hemodynamic changes associated with long-term antihypertensive therapy with new calcium antagonist

To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of a new calcium antagonist, nicardipine in hypertension, the cardiovascular effects of chronic therapy were determined by echocardiography in 10 patients with uncomplicated mild to moderate hypertension. Significant declines were recorded in mean blood pressure (average; 11.7 +/- 0.8%) and total peripheral resistance (22.0 +/- 2.0%), accompanied by an increase in cardiac index (13.6 +/- 2.2%). In spite of the considerable degree of blood pressure reduction, heart rate and body weight were unchanged. The magnitude of the decline in total peripheral resistance was directly correlated to both the decrease in mean blood pressure (r = 0.701, p less than 0.02) and the increase in cardiac index (r = -0.953, p less than 0.01). These findings suggest that the hypotensive effect of this new calcium antagonist is due to peripheral vasodilation, and it appears to represent an effective adjunct for the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension.