Calcium Channel Blockers for Cardiovascular Disorders

The calcium channel blocking agents are an exciting, entirely new class of drugs that will have widespread application in this country during the next several years. Actually, clinical experience with these drugs around the globe has already been extensive. However, many of the older studies performed with these agents, some of which had less-than-optimal controls, have for many years not met the vigorous standards of our regulatory agencies. Most would agree that this delay has been appropriate since, even during the writing of this article, critical clarification of these drugs continues. Some internationally performed studies have met with the rigorous investigational criteria expected by our regulatory agencies, but the bulk of studies that will eventually permit some of these drugs to reach our US market is currently being performed or has just recently been published. Until such time as a comprehensive evaluation is possible, initial approval will be limited to