Effects of felodipine on haemodynamics and exercise capacity in patients with angina pectoris.

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Abstract
We studied the effects of adding felodipine to beta‐adrenoceptor blockade on haemodynamics and exercise capacity in 14 patients with stable angina pectoris using a placebo controlled double‐blind crossover protocol. Felodipine reduced supine and standing systolic pressure by 13% (P less than 0.01) and 14% (P less than 0.01) respectively and increased supine heart rate 7.4% (P less than 0.05). Felodipine at a plasma concentration of 15.5 +/‐ 3.0 nmol l‐1 increased exercise duration by 16% (P less than 0.01) but failed to attenuate the degree of ST segment depression during exercise. The mean daily number of episodes of angina (0.53 +/‐ 0.16 on placebo vs 0.37 +/‐ 0.11 on felodipine) and mean daily GTN consumption (0.51 +/‐ 0.07 on placebo vs 0.36 +/‐ 0.12 on felodipine) were not significantly reduced (0.1 less than P greater than 0.05). These findings suggest that felodipine may provide useful additional benefits in patients with hypertension or angina pectoris, who are already receiving beta‐adrenoceptor blockers.