Pressure to remove calcium antagonists, given to treat hypertension (high blood pressure), from the market is likely to grow following new research suggesting they cause cancer. They have already been blamed for increasing heart attack risk and causi
The new finding was made by researchers in the US and Italy who tracked 750 elderly patients treated for hypertension for four years. Those who were taking calcium antagonists suffered a rate of cancer double that for the other groups, who were prescribed ACE inhibitors or beta blockers.
!AThe Lancet, 1996; 348:49.