hmic, and prohemorrhagic effects in addition to some marked hypotension (11).
There are, however, some problems that have been noted with some of the studies decrying the use of calcium channel blockers either short- or long-acting. A University of Washington study which originally cautioned against the use of these antihypertensive agents was found to be misleading when the actual risk of increased heart attack was found to be an insignificant 1.6%. In the 1995 Psaty et al. case-control study which started the controversy, it must be remembered that hypertensive patients with CAD or other concomitant disorders are inherently at a greater risk for myocardial infarction (MI) death and that they are the patients who are more likely to receive calcium channel blockers (11). It was also noted that the analysis was not controlled for left ventricular dysfunction or ventricular arrhythmias which are common in patients with MI histories (11). Dr. Messerli claims that this study therefore proves not that calcium channel bl
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