Comparison of oral propranolol and verapamil for combined systemic hypertension and angina pectoris: A placebo-controlled double-blind randomized crossover trial

The relative efficacies of oral verapamil, a calcium-entry blocking drug, and propranolol, a beta-adrenergic blocking drug, were compared in 12 patients who had both stable angina pectoris and mild to moderate systemic hypertension, using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized crossover protocol. Compared with placebo, both propranolol and verapamil decreased the frequency of anginal attacks and the number of nitroglycerin tablets consumed, and increased exercise duration and total work; there were no significant differences in the antianginal effect of the two drugs. Both verapamil and propranolol reduced the supine and standing systolic and diastolic blood pressure measured at rest; compared with propranolol, however, verapamil had greater effects on standing diastolic blood pressure (p