Aspects on the benefit-risk balance of felodipine in hypertension.

This review attempts to evaluate the benefit-risk balance of felodipine in the treatment of hypertension. Known positive and negative properties of felodipine are considered. Although accurate benefit-risk statements may be difficult even for old, well-established drugs it is concluded that felodipine appears to be an effective and well tolerated new antihypertensive drug. The reduction in blood pressure during felodipine treatment has been superior to that seen with established antihypertensive drugs in controlled studies.