Pharmacologic and therapeutic differences among calcium channel antagonists: profile of mibefradil, a new calcium antagonist.

Calcium antagonists are a heterogeneous group of drugs, each with a different chemical structure and cardiovascular profile. Distinguishing factors include pharmacokinetics, mode of calcium mobilization affected, class and subclass of calcium channel inhibited, state-dependent interactions, and effect of disease on the drug's activity. A new calcium antagonist, mibefradil, has a unique chemical structure and cardiovascular profile compared with those currently available, and it appears to represent a new class of calcium antagonists.