The antianginal effects of diltiazem 180 mg/day and propranolol 240 mg/day, alone and in combination, were investigated in 15 patients with effort related angina in a double blind placebo controlled crossover trial, with each period of treatment lasting four weeks. Patients performed a symptom limited treadmill exercise test at the end of each period of treatment. Mean (SEM) time to onset of an...

Although the calcium channel blocker diltiazem has been shown to be an effective antihypertensive agent, its effect on renal function, salt and water excretion, and body fluid composition has not been well characterized in patients with primary hypertension. Therefore, these parameters were prospectively studied in 18 subjects with primary hypertension after placebo and 8 weeks of diltiazem mon...

The objective of the study was to evaluate the antiglaucoma effect of calcium channel blockers diltiazem and verapamil. Albino rabbits were used and chronic glaucoma was induced in them using freshly prepared 150 units of alphachymotrypsin. 0.1 mL of drug solution was administered topically into the left eye whereas the right served as control. The pressure recording was carried out at 15, 30, ...

OBJECTIVES This study was defined as a pilot investigation of the usefulness and safety of intravenous diltiazem as adjunctive therapy to tissue plasminogen activator in acute myocardial infarction, followed by oral therapy for 4 weeks. BACKGROUND Experimental studies have documented that calcium antagonists protect the myocardial cell against the damage caused by coronary artery occlusion an...

Diltiazem may provide a protective effect to ischemic and reperfused myocardium through preservation of high-energy phosphate metabolism. To test this hypothesis, rabbits had a 1.3 cm solenoidal coil placed over the myocardium to be rendered ischemic. Data were acquired with a 22 cm bore nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer at 2.0 T. Animals were treated with diltiazem (200 micrograms/kg int...

The therapeutic effects of diltiazem hydrochloride are believed to be related to its ability to inhibit the cellular influx of calcium ions during membrane depolarization of cardiac and vascular smooth muscle. Mechanisms of Action Hypertension: Diltiazem produces its antihypertensive effect primarily by relaxation of vascular smooth muscle and the resultant decrease in peripheral vascular resis...

OBJECTIVE Antihypertensive therapy with thiazides decreases coronary events in elderly patients. However, the influence of diuretics on myocardial ischemia has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of chlorthalidone and diltiazem on myocardial ischemia. METHODS Following a randomized, double-blind, crossover protocol, we studied 15 elderly hypertensive p...

BACKGROUND/AIMS In this study, we examined whether the combination of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and diltiazem therapy provided a cardioprotective effect on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) rat model. METHODS Sixty healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into sham, IR, diltiazem (5 mg/kg), HBO (0.25 MPa, 60 min) and combination therapy (HBO plus diltiazem) groups. MIRI mod...

The administration of calcium channel blockers has been associated with gingival overgrowth. However, there are few studies in humans or animals that evaluated the effect of diltiazem on gingival tissues. The present study assessed the influence of diltiazem, at different dosages and treatment duration, on gingival tissues of rats, using clinical, histological and histometric analyses. Eighty y...

BACKGROUND Dihydropyridine calcium antagonists increase heart rate due to reflex activation of the sympathetic nervous system, although these effects are less obvious for long-acting agents. OBJECTIVE To study the effects of diltiazem retard, a long-acting nondihydropyridine calcium antagonist, on 24h blood pressure, heart rate and autonomic nerve activity in patients with essential hypertens...