Hypertension is a major and growing public health problem and it calls for life-long management. The antihypertensive agents are still playing major roles in the management of hypertension. We studied the effect of the long-term therapy with a new calcium channel blocker, felodipine in patients with essential hypertension.

We recruited 31 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertention and gave them 5mg (1 tablet) of felodipine(Munobal®) once daily for 12 months. We measured the blood pressure and the heart rate every month and tried to detect any untoward symptoms and signs during the whole observation period. Baseline work-up for the hypertensive patients were done as usual before and after the study.

The average systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 162.7±9.7/99.6±7.4mmHg respectively before the administration and they came down to the level of 139.7±15.0/87.3±8.6mmHg respectively at the end of the 1st month (p<0.05). This trend was maintained during the whole observation period, so they were 141.2±11.0/85.6±8.2mmHg respectively at the end of the study (p<0.05). Untoward drug reactions such as gastrointestinal troubles, facial edema, leg edema, chest pain and headache were present in 11 patients (35%) but they were not serious. There was no case in which the drug was withdrawn. There was one case in which the level of the serum triglyceride increased after the administration of the drug.

Felodipine has good and persistent hypotensive effect and it is safe and easy to use.