Hemodynamic effects of a newly developed calcium channel blocker, pranidipine, on dynamic exercise-induced angina were investigated. Ten patients with stable effort angina pectoris underwent symptom-limited bicycle ergometer exercise testings before and after a single oral administration of pranidipine, and effects of pranidipine on systemic, cardiac and coronary hemo-dynamics induced by dynamic exercise were evaluated invasively. Pranidipine administration reduced systemic vascular resistance (from 1,764 +/- 109 to 1,115 +/- 60 dynes.sec/cm5; p < 0.01 at test, and from 1,120 +/- 102 to 795 +/- 62 dynes.sec/cm5; p < 0.05 at peak exercise) and mean arterial pressure (from 93 +/- 5 to 76 +/- 3 mmHg; p < 0.01 at test, and from 85 +/- 7 to 72 +/- 6 mmHg; p < 0.05 at peak exercise) with the increase in heart rate and cardiac index throughout exercise. Pranidipine also decreased coronary vascular resistance from 1.29 +/- 0.21 to 0.89 +/- 0.17 mmHg/ml/min (p < 0.05) at resting condition. At peak exercise, rate-pressure product and myocardial oxygen consumption decreased (from 237 +/- 21 to 215 +/- 18 x 10(2); p < 0.05, and from 31.3 +/- 7.5 to 21.7 +/- 3.9 ml/min; p < 0.05, respectively), while coronary vascular resistance did not change significantly. Furthermore, pranidipine mitigated ST-segment depression and elevation of pulmonary artery wedge pressure at peak exercise (from 0.20 +/- 0.03 to 0.13 +/- 0.02 mV; p < 0.01, and from 25 +/- 3 to 11 +/- 2 mmHg; p < 0.01, respectively). These results suggest that the major therapeutic effects of pranidipine for dynamic exercise-induced angina would be to reduce myocardial oxygen demand by improving peripheral circulation and reducing preload and afterload.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)