These are the preliminary data of an open multicenter trial of antihypertensive 
treatment with isradipine as monotherapy (dose, 4.55 +/- 0.56 mg twice daily; n 
= 11) or isradipine (7.5 +/- 0.63 mg twice daily) in combination with bopindolol 
(1.16 +/- 0.12 mg once daily; n = 30) administered for 3 years to patients with 
essential hypertension (WHO classification I or II). Blood pressure was 
significantly decreased in both treatment groups and there was no indication of 
resistance to therapy. Plasma levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides were 
decreased by the end of the second year of treatment, and there was a tendency 
toward increase in plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL2 
or HDL3). The atherogenic index (ratio between total cholesterol and HDL2 plus 
HDL3) was also decreased. Blood glucose levels remained unchanged in both 
normoglycemic patients and those with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus 
(NIDDM) during 3 years of therapy. It is concluded that isradipine is safe and 
effective when administered long-term in the treatment of hypertensive patients 
with either hyperlipidemia or NIDDM.