[Preventive action on stable exercise-induced angina of a topical nitroglycerin gel and of an oral slow-release nitroglycerin compound (Lénitral) in low and high dosage (author's transl)].

A nitroglycerin gel applied to the skin in doses of 15 to 30 mg prevents or delays the anginal pain induced by an excise tolerance test. The effects of the drug after a single application lasted 3 hours irrespective of the dose. Improvement in terms of increased heart rate, decreased S-T segment displacement and increased exercise capacity was the same as that observed after 0,75 mg sublingual nitroglycerin. A single 2.5 mg dose of an oral compound slowly released from the intestine (Lénitral) had no measurable effect during a 3-hour observation period. In contrast, a single 7.5 mg dose of the same compound produced, after 3 hours, the same overall improvement as that obtained with 0.75 mg sublingual nitroglycerin.