An outspoken critic of calcium antagonists says that the drugs are not much better than other antihypertensives at controlling hypertension - and are associated with a higher incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure, compared with therapies such as diuretics, ACE inhibitors and β-blockers. In a Hot Line oral presentation at the 22nd Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) [Amsterdam, The Netherlands; August 2000], Professor Curt Furberg from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US, reported on a meta-analysis of 9 major trials in which calcium antagonists were compared with other treatments for hypertension.