Calcium antagonists as anti-atherosclerotic agents

Hypercholesterolaemia and hypertension are two major risk factors for atherosclerosis. Each contributes to the progression of plaque, which can eventually occlude arteries leading to myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and peripheral vascular damage. Both elevated blood pressure and high plasma cholesterol can now be controlled with anti-hypertensives and medicines such as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, or statins, but no treatments are available that act specifically to reduce or reverse the progression of plaque. Calcium entry blockers (CEBs) are potent anti-hypertensives. However, the rationale for the use of a CEB to interfere with the mechanisms of plaque formation is also strong. It can be hypothesised that CEBs should potentially be able to reduce cholesterol deposition, cellular proliferation and migration and increased cellular matrix, since all of these processes involve calcium. However, CEBs are a heterogeneous class, differing in terms of structure, poten...