Cronidipine (LF 20254), a calcium channel antagonist, is used potentially for the treatment of hypertension and myocardia ischemia.

In acute experiments, Cronidipine was shown to be more potent than nifedipine and nicardipine in reducing blood pressure after i.v. and oral administration with less tachycardia. The hypotensive effects of Cronidipine (10 mg/kg) lasted for greater than 24 h, whereas the blood pressure-lowering effects of nifedipine and nicardipine (10 mg/kg) disappeared after 6 h. Cronidipinegiven orally once a day at 10 mg/kg for 14 days to spontaneously hypertensive rats, led to a marked and persistent decrease in blood pressure, with no significant changes in heart rate. In an attempt to prevent the development of hypertension, Cronidipine (3 and 10 mg/kg) was given once a day for 8 weeks to 5-week-old SHR. On the last day of treatment, Cronidipine had markedly reduced blood pressure over a 24 h period, however, there was no reduction of left ventricular hypertrophy, since body weight and left ventricular weight was not significantly different between control and treated groups.[2]