[Anti-angina effectiveness of the calcium antagonist nifedipine in relation to coronary involvement].

36 patients with chronic stable or the variant form of angina pectoris were subdivided according to their coronary angiogram into 4 groups: Group A with a single highgrade stenosis in one coronary artery, Groups B, C and D with different patterns of occluded, but collateralized coronary arteries supplying noninfarcted myocardium. All patients underwent multiple exercise step tests before (K) and after randomly assigned crossover treatment with 20 mg nifedipine (N), 20 mg isosorbiddinitrate (I), the combination of both (I + N) and Placebo (P). Peak and mean ischemic ST-segment depression, the occurrence of angina pectoris and heart rate were evaluated. The mean ischemic ST-segment depression decreased significantly after N in group A by -28% (p less than 0.01), but was not significantly altered in the groups B, C and D (B: -12%, C: +7%, D: +2%). After I, mean ST-segment depression decreased significantly in all groups (A: -36%, p less than 0.001; B: -27%, p less than 0.001; C: -22%, p less than 0.01; D: -29%, p less than 0.05). The combination of I + N was not better than I alone. Peak ST-depression and angina pectoris paralleled the results of mean ST-depression. The resting heart rate increased significantly after N only in group A (+9%, p less than 0.01) and increased after I in the groups A, B and C (A: +11%, p less than 0.05; B: +12%, p less than 0.05; C: +12%, p less than 0.01). During exercise, heart rate was not significantly different in any group or after any type of treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)