No metabolic side effects of long-term treatment with verapamil in hypertension |
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Authors: | K Midtb? O Lauve O Hals |
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Affiliation: | Medical Department, Ullevaal Hospital, Oslo, Norway. |
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Abstract: | In a prospective, open study 45 patients (mean age fifty-three years) with essential hypertension were treated with verapamil for four to eight years (mean 5.3 years). Blood pressure was satisfactorily controlled (from 160/104 to 145/91) and the side effects were infrequent, mild, and often transient. Verapamil did not exert any unfavorable metabolic or hematologic effects over the years. HDL-cholesterol was moderately increased (mean 24%) and the other plasma lipids were unaffected. These data suggest that the calcium channel blocker verapamil is a metabolically safe drug to use as monotherapy in essential hypertension. |
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