Calcium Channel Blocker

The FDA has granted orphan drug designation to AISA-021, a fourth-generation calcium channel blocker, for the treatment of systemic sclerosis, according to a press release from Aisa Pharma.

Calcium channel blocker use was associated with an average 39% higher odds of glaucoma, as well as thinner inner retinal thickness, in a cross-sectional study of UK Biobank data.

Beta-blockers may reduce risk for death or hospitalization for people with HF with preserved ejection fraction more effectively than calcium channel blockers, according to data from a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Renal denervation lowered blood pressure out to 36 months, regardless of baseline antihypertensive class combinations and polypharmacy burden, according to an analysis of the Global SYMPLICITY Registry DEFINE.

PHILADELPHIA — A variety of pharmacologic and device-based approaches provides hope for effective and safe treatment of resistant hypertension, which can be “tedious but important” to diagnose, according to a speaker.

Patients with chronic kidney disease who were initiated on renin-angiotensin system inhibitors experienced greater benefits, including a reduced need for dialysis, than those initiated on calcium channel blockers.

Etripamil nasal spray compared with placebo to terminate paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.

Etripamil, a novel fast-acting calcium channel blocker administered via nasal spray, was not superior to placebo for conversion of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia to sinus rhythm at 5 hours, but bested placebo for short-term conversion, according to results of the NODE-301 trial.

Calcium channel blockers that are often prescribed to older adults with hypertension can cause peripheral edema, which many physicians misinterpret as a new medical condition and subsequently prescribe diuretics, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Drug classes used as monotherapy for hypertension were shown to be comparable, although thiazide or thiazide-like diuretics were superior to ACE inhibitors, according to results from the LEGEND-HTN study published in The Lancet.