Skip Navigation

European Heart Journal 1989 10(10):923-927;
Copyright © 1989 by the European Society of Cardiology.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by POSMA, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by LIE, K. I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by POSMA, J. L.
Right arrow Articles by LIE, K. I.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1889 The European Society of Cardiology

Sustained-release diltiazem versus metoprolol in stable angina pectoris

J. L. POSMA, R. B. VAN DIJK and K. I. LIE

Department of Cardiology, Thoraxcenter, University Hospital Groningen The Netherlands

Received 13 January 1989; revised 17 March 1989; .

Correspondence: Jan L. Posma, Thoraxcentre, University Hospital Groningen, P.O. Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands

Abstract

The efficacy of sustained-release diltiazem (diltiazem-SR) 120 mg b.i.d. was compared with metoprolol 100 mg b.i.d. in 12 patients with stable angina. Following a 1-week placebo period, patients received diltiazem-SR or metoprolol in two 3-week treatment periods, in a randomized double-blind crossover design. Total exercise time was increased more with diltiazem-SR than with metoprolol (1.2 min vs 0.4 min, P=0.02), although the reduction in frequency of weekly anginal attacks was equal with both drugs (5±3 with placebo to 1±1 with both drugs). The difference between diltiazem-SR and metoprolol may, in part, be due to the fact that the tests were performed 12 h after drug administration. The diltiazem plasma levels were in the therapeutic range; metoprolol plasma levels, in contrast, were all below the therapeutic range. In addition, the patients might be tired out earlier during ßblockade therapy, because a greater increase in exercise time with diltiazem-SR compared with metoprolol was found in those patients in whom the exercise endpoint changed from angina to fatigue.

Thus, diltiazem-SR effectively reduces the frequency of anginal attacks when given twice daily, and improves exercise capacity to a greater extent than metoprolol 12 h after last dose.

Key Words: Diltiazem • sustained-release • metoprolol • stable angina


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.