Effect of calcium antagonists on stress-induced rise in blood pressure and heart rate: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Abstract

The current study was designed to evaluate the effect of treatment with calcium antagonists on stress-induced increases in blood pressure and heart rate. SUBIECTS, MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two models of stress were chosen, cold stress and isometric handgrip exercise. Six healthy volunteers were randomized to receive amlodipine (5 mg), lacidipine (4 mg) for a two-day period in a double-blind, crossover design. Thirty hypertensive patients received the same treatment for a period of one week in a double-blind, parallel design. The effects of stress on blood pressure and heart rate were taken at baseline and after drug treatment. Cold stress and handgrip exercise significantly increased the systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as the heart rate. In normotensive volunteers, the resting heart rate and blood pressure were not altered by the drugs. The increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure produced by cold stress and isometric exercise were unchanged by amlodipine and lacidipine. In hypertensive patients, both drugs reduced the resting blood pressure (p < 0.05). As in normotensive individuals, the pressor response to stress was not altered by the drugs. Cold stress and handgrip exercise produced a significant rise in blood pressure and heart rate in normotensive volunteers and patients with hypertension. Cardiovascular reactivity to cold stress and handgrip exercise is not altered by the administration ofamlodipine and lacidipine.