Secondary Prevention Reinfarction Israeli Nifedipine Trial (SPRINT). A Randomized Intervention Trial of Nifedipine in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction. The Israeli Sprint Study Group

The efficacy of nifedipine in the prevention of post-infarction morbidity and mortality was evaluated in a double-blind clinical trial of 2276 survivors of acute myocardial infarction recruited from the cardiac departments of 14 Israeli hospitals. The patients were randomized to either nifedipine 30 mg day-1 or placebo between 7 and 21 days after their hospitalization for the acute event. Baseline characteristics of patients in each group were virtually identical for most pertinent variables. Mortality during an average 10-month follow-up period was 5.7% in the placebo group and 5.8% among those receiving nifedipine. Nonfatal recurrent myocardial infarction occurred in 4.8% and 4.4% of placebo and nifedipine patients, respectively. Administration of nifedipine according to the protocol used in the present study had no effect on cardiac events in survivors of acute myocardial infarction.