[Comparison of antianginal effects of diltiazem and metoprolol in patients with ischemic heart disease with different clinical forms of angina pectoris].

Diltiazem, a new calcium antagonist, and metoprolol, a cardioselective beta-adrenoblocker, were comparatively studied in 53 patients with exertional angina and 11 patients with spontaneous angina. A simple blind random method using placebo, graded physical exercise test employing a bicycle ergometer, and Holter monitoring were applied to evaluate the efficiency of the antianginal treatment. A good antianginal effect was exhibited by the both drugs in exercise-induced angina. Diltiazem was found to be effective in 74% of the patients with exertional angina, whereas metoprolol was beneficial in 62%. Unlike diltiazem (85.7%), metoprolol (50.0%) was less potent in spontaneous angina.