Objective: It is generally agreed that short acting
calcium channel blockers (CCB) as nifedipine are not
safe as the reflex increase in sympathetic activity and
thus, their use in hypertension (HTN) is questionable.
The objective of this study was to determine the extent of
utilization of short acting nifedipine in the treatment of
complicated and uncomplicated HTN in one of the major
districts in Palestine, Nablus.
Method: The data for this study were collected from
patient’s medical files. Data collection was made over a
period of 6 months (April - October 2003) in Nablus,
Palestine. The sample studied included 876 patients with
cardiovascular diseases. Focus was made on the 262
patients with uncomplicated HTN and the 147 patients
with both HTN and diabetes mellitus.
Results: A total of 247 (28.2%) patients in the study
sample were receiving CCB. One third (33.7%) of
patients with uncomplicated HTN were receiving CCB
mainly as monotherapy with most of them (61%) were
receiving the old generation nifedipine as a short acting
formulation. Use of nifedipine was also more common
among elderly patients above the age of 60 years.
Conclusion: There was a tendency to use short acting
nifedipine as antihypertensive monotherapy among
patients with either uncomplicated or complicated HTN.
This irrational use needs to be reviewed since it is
associated with higher risks.