Prazosin therapy for refractory variant angina.

The selective alpha, blocker prazosin was used to abolish Prinzmetal's variant angina in six patients. All had had an acute transmural myocardial infarction, after which the anginal attacks with transient ST segment elevation developed, and three of them had already suffered from variant angina prior to the infarction. Therapeutic trials with high doses of nifedipine, verapamil, nitrates, beta blockers, and (in one case) phenoxybenzamine were ineffective in all six patients. Prazosin, 8 to 30 mg/day combined with low-dose nitrates or nifedipine completely abolished the attacks in four patients, markedly reduced their frequency and intensity in one patient, and had to be stopped in the sixth one because of hypotension and dizziness. Except for this last patient, the drug was well tolerated by all the others, and no changes in blood pressure were observed. In four patients discontinuation or reduction of prazosin resulted in exacerbation of symptoms, but its renewal was followed by disappearance of the attacks. Since the mean follow-up period in this study was 4 to 6 months, further evaluation appears necessary concerning the long-term effects of this drug in Prinzmetal's variant angina.