Clinical pharmacology of antianginal drugs

The problem of examining and evaluating antianginal effects is explored. Special attention is paid to the mode of action of the nitrites, which form the mainstay of the modern treatment of angina of effort. Other pharmacologic features of these drugs are also examined. Prophylactic therapy is considered, and the improbability of developing an effective long‐acting nitrite is discussed. Other drugs and therapies are also considered: alcohol, sedatives and tranquilizers, khellin, xanthines, hormones, cholesterolytic agents, tissue extracts, anticoagulants, papaverine, and antithyroid drugs. The monamine oxidase inhibitors, the probable mode of their effect in angina, and their uses and dangers are considered in some detail.