Calcium antagonists "Some agents lower blood pressure and still put the heart at risk ?"

The 1,4 dihydropyridine calcium antagonists have several properties that th eoretically make them attractive for treatment of hypertension and preventi on as well as management of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, some of them appear to have actions that are detrimental for outcome. This brief r eview will first address the different subclasses of dihydropyridines, then outline differences between these subclasses which may impact on outcome i n CAD and hypertension, and the last part will review present evidence for differences in cardiac outcome.