Editing Calcium channel blocker (section)

{{short description|Group of medications that disrupt movement of calcium through calcium channels}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc}}
{{Infobox drug class
| Name              = Calcium channel blockers
| Alt               =
| Caption           =
| Use               = [[hypertension]], [[Heart arrhythmia|arrhythmia]],  [[cluster headache]]<ref name="Tfelt09">{{Cite journal |last=Tfelt-Hansen |first=P |last2=Tfelt-Hansen |first2=J |year=2009 |title=Verapamil for cluster headache. Clinical pharmacology and possible mode of action |journal=Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=117–25 |doi=10.1111/j.1526-4610.2008.01298.x |pmid=19125880 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
| Biological_target =
| ATC_prefix        = C08
| MeshID            = D002121
| Drugs.com         =
| Consumer_Reports  =
| medicinenet       =
| rxlist            =
}}

'''Calcium channel blockers''' ('''CCB'''), '''calcium channel antagonists''' or '''calcium antagonists'''<ref name="Lange2011">{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Kent |title=Poisoning & drug overdose |date=2011 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Medical |isbn=978-0-07-166833-0 |edition=6th |chapter=40. Calcium Channel Antagonists}}</ref> are a group of [[medication]]s that disrupt the movement of [[calcium]] ({{chem2|Ca(2+)}}) through [[calcium channel]]s.<ref>{{DorlandsDict|nine/20112461|calcium channel blocker}}</ref> Calcium channel blockers are used as [[antihypertensive drug]]s, i.e., as medications to decrease [[blood pressure]] in patients with [[hypertension]]. CCBs are particularly effective against large vessel stiffness, one of the common causes of elevated [[Systole|systolic]] blood pressure in [[elderly care|elderly patients]].<ref name="nps01">{{Cite journal |last=Nelson M |year=2010 |title=Drug treatment of elevated blood pressure |journal=Australian Prescriber |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=108–12 |doi=10.18773/austprescr.2010.055 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Calcium channel blockers are also frequently used to alter [[heart rate]] (especially from atrial fibrillation), to prevent peripheral and [[cerebral vasospasm]], and to reduce [[chest pain]] caused by [[angina pectoris]].

[[N-type calcium channel|N-type]], [[L-type calcium channel|L-type]], and [[T-type calcium channel|T-type]] [[voltage-dependent calcium channel]]s are present in the [[zona glomerulosa]] of the [[adrenal gland|human adrenal gland]], and CCBs can directly influence the [[biosynthesis]] of [[aldosterone]] in [[adrenal cortex|adrenocortical cells]], with consequent impact on the clinical treatment of [[hypertension]] with these [[active ingredient|agents]].<ref name="Felizola">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Felizola SJ, Maekawa T, Nakamura Y, Satoh F, Ono Y, Kikuchi K, Aritomi S, Ikeda K, Yoshimura M, Tojo K, Sasano H |year=2014 |title=Voltage-gated calcium channels in the human adrenal and primary aldosteronism |journal=J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol |volume=144 |issue=part B |pages=410–16 |doi=10.1016/j.jsbmb.2014.08.012 |pmid=25151951 |s2cid=23622821}}</ref>

CCBs have been shown to be slightly more effective than [[beta blockers]] at lowering [[cardiovascular]] [[Mortality rate|mortality]] associated with stroke, but they are associated with more [[side effects]].<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Chen N, Zhou M, Yang M, Guo J, Zhu C, Yang J, Wang Y, Yang X, He L |year=2010 |title=Calcium channel blockers versus other classes of drugs for hypertension |journal=Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=8 |issue=8 |page=CD003654 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD003654.pub4 |pmid=20687074}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Calcium Channel Blockers |url=http://www.medicinenet.com/calcium_channel_blockers/page2.htm#side%20effects |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421102911/http://www.medicinenet.com/calcium_channel_blockers/page2.htm#side%20effects |archive-date=2012-04-21 |access-date=2013-01-19 |website=MedicineNet |page=2}}</ref> Potential major risks however were mainly found to be associated with short-acting CCBs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Norman M Kaplan, MD |last2=Burton D Rose, MD |date=Apr 3, 2000 |title=Major side effects and safety of calcium channel blockers |url=http://cmbi.bjmu.edu.cn/uptodate/hypertension/drg%20therpy/Major%20side%20effects%20and%20safety%20of%20calcium%20channel%20blockers.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230013813/http://cmbi.bjmu.edu.cn/uptodate/hypertension/drg%20therpy/Major%20side%20effects%20and%20safety%20of%20calcium%20channel%20blockers.htm |archive-date=December 30, 2011 |access-date=July 23, 2012 |website=Chinese Medical & Biological Information}}</ref>